Back to the Coloring Pages
by FrankandJoe3
Summary: When you're a superhero, there's no time for fun and games, but when the team gets an anonymous package, they get to see what it's like to be a kid again, whether they like it or not.
1. Chapter 1

**This idea came to me as I was coloring in my Sesame Street coloring book (: I was coloring Cookie Monster in if you were wondering. He had a pretty pumpkin in his hand with the moon in the background. It's on my door right now. I'm proud of it. If you're judging me… I don't blame you. I'd judge myself too. You're just jealous though that your grandma didn't buy you a Sesame Street coloring book. It has Zoey and Elmo in it too :P**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sesame Street or the characters of YJ, but I do own a kickass coloring book. **

Batman stopped cold in the kitchen, questionably looking over the younger Justice League, the mail package in his arms. Robin and Kid Flash were on the floor, hardcore wrestling. Aqualad, Miss Martian, Superboy and Artemis were trying to pry them off of each other, but they were being stubborn as always.

"It's mine!" Robin shrieked, kicking the ginger off of him and scrambling to his feet, running to the kitchen.

Wally got to his feet faster and dashed forward, wrapping his arms around the ebony's middle, tackling them both to the hardwood floor.

"Get your own, cripple!" Wally growled, probably referring to the tight white bandages that replaced Robin's usual black gloves.

"I'm not a cripple!" Robin cried, attempting to escape the ill intentioned bear hug he was bound by.

Batman blinked slowly, trying to decide what would be the best thing to do. It didn't take long for him to decide. He set the box down on the table and crossed across the kitchen floor, pushing past the older team members. He grabbed the back of Wally's jacket in one hand, tugging the redhead up sharply, more carefully doing the same to Robin, setting them both on their feet apart from each other. The civvies-wearing ebony smiled up at his mentor while the civvies-wearing ginger glared at the boy across from him.

"Is there a problem here?" Batman asked calmly, looking from cornflower eyes to emerald ones.

"No sir-," Wally began to growl grudgingly, but Robin cut him off, "Yeah, this jackoff won't share the KFC."

Batman turned his eyes to the Kid Flash, glaring lightly.

"Jackoff, is this true?" he tried to sound serious, but when you're using 'jackoff' as an insult, it's pretty difficult.

Wally averted his eyes, afraid to have them cross the path of the Dark Knight's own prized pair.

"Yes, it is true, but it's _my _KFC. I shouldn't need to share. Besides, _my _name is in it! That alone should say it's mine!"

"It doesn't say 'Wally' anywhere on it!" Robin cried, glaring up at his best friend.

The redhead smirked madly.

"Ah, but it does say 'KF'. That is what you call me, isn't it?" he teased.

Robin frowned angrily, folding his arms over his chest, tossing his head in disgust. Batman kept a hold on the back of both of their shirts, just in case. His eyes turned to his sidekick.

"Robin, is the KFC really his?" he met the pretty blues with his own dark ones.

Robin hesitated, setting a hand to his neck.

"Yeah but… b-but he…" he sighed defeatedly, shrugging lazily. "Yeah, it is, but KFC is delicious and this _pig_," he stuck his tongue out at the ginger, "shouldn't get to eat it all by himself. He should have to share with his best buddy."

Batman smiled the ghost of a smile, dropping his hold on the boys, shaking his head shamefully.

"You can fight about the KFC in a minute, boys. A package came for the whole team and I figured you'd be interested."

Everyone's eyes followed his gloved hand's gestured direction to the package on the table. Emerald and blue met challengingly, a smirk was shared between the two youngest boys, and Robin and Wally took off for the package. The rest of the team walked normally after them, equally as curious about it.

"Any idea what it is?" Kaldur asked casually, eying the large package.

Batman shook his head.

"None in the slightest," he admitted before waving a light farewell and departing from the room.

When he was gone, Artemis nudged Robin with her elbow, catching his attention. He hummed lightly to show she had his attention.

"Since when is Batman… mellow? Happy?" she asked lightly, clearly confused by the odd show.

Robin smiled secretly.

"The Dark Knight found himself a fair princess," he smirked to himself before turning to the package.

The rest of them exchanged surprised glances. Batman knew how to love? Woah, major shocker. Wally was the first to shrug it off, watching the package carefully, as if waiting for it to explode.

"Yo Supey, look inside it for us will ya?" he asked lightly.

Conner glared his way, folding his arms over his chest.

"I have infrared vision, dumbass, not x-ray vision," he corrected rudely.

Wally didn't seem to notice the 'dumbass' comment.

"Oh, right. Sorry," he turned his gaze to the ebony beside him. "What about you, Boy Wonderful? Do you have anything in your belt that can make sure we won't be opening a bomb or something?"

It was Robin's turn to glare and fold his arms over his chest.

"First off, don't call me Boy Wonderful. I'm Robin. Second, Batman wouldn't give us anything that could harm us in any way. Third, my arms are bandaged up for a reason. I'm not supposed to move them around a lot, so even if I _did _have some radiation detecting device in one of the pouches, I couldn't get it for you."

Wally looked at the bandaged arms curiously.

"They seemed to work just fine when you were trying to beat me down," he pointed out, petting the adhesive bandages.

Robin winced at the touch, drawing away.

"I probably jacked them up a bit more now, no thanks to you," he said sourly.

Wally threw an arm around Robin's shoulders warmly.

"You know you love me," he whispered lightly before turning to Artemis, "How about you blondie? You got anything that could help us?"

She rolled her eyes lightly, pulling an arrow from behind her back. She turned it so the pointed edge, using it to slit the tape that held the package closed before putting it back. Then Artemis pulled the box open, looking over the contents.

"Oh no, paper! We're all gonna die!" she cried sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips.

Conner picked up the paper on top before anyone else could.

"'_To the Young Justice League… I know this gift may seem silly, but I know that being a hero must be tiresome on most days. The contents of this box were sent to you all so you could feel like a child again and not just a busy grown-up hero. All my love, Anonymous',_" he read aloud, raising an eyebrow.

Wally and Dick were the first to tear into the box. Wally grabbed a stack of what seemed to be coloring books and Dick grabbed a bunch of boxes of markers and crayons. They exchanged excited glances.

"We call them first!" they cried in unison, dashing to the living room where a large coffee table conveniently stretched over an area great enough to color on.

Artemis rolled her eyes, sighing softly.

"Some people don't know when to grow up," she sighed, but she was speaking to no one.

The rest of them were by the coffee table, getting a coloring book of their own, some markers and a box of crayons. Wally glanced her way from on the couch.

"Don't be an ass," he tossed, "Come color."

She shrugged defeatedly, walking over to join the rest of the team, feeling rather childish. Conner sat in the arm chair, Megan sitting on its left arm, the chair reclined so they both were lying out. They had the books resting on their knees and the colors on their stomachs, curiously flipping through the books. Wally and Robin sat dangerously close to each other, hunched over. They had their books and colors on the table, glancing through the coloring pages. Kaldur was seated to the left of Dick, two feet off from him, leaning against the left arm of the couch, doing the same as the ginger and the ebony. Artemis copied him, sitting as far from Wally as she could manage, which was about three feet seeing that she perched herself on the arm like Megan.

"Dude, this book has…" Wally's voice trailed off, his lips parting in surprise.

"It's us…" Robin half continued the thought, just as bewildered.

The book had line drawings of them, all perfectly exact. It had everything right, down to the number of freckles and eyelashes. On one picture of Robin in his civvies, you could even see the faint outline of his eyes behind the uncolored-in shades.

"Creepy," Conner mumbled.

Robin was the first to pick a picture to color. He picked one of him and Wally. In the picture, they were bro-fisting. He figured it was simple and easy so he might as well color it. Wally followed soon after with a picture of him and Robin that he recognized from the day they all had found Superboy. They had their costumes torn, but they were smiling and highfiving weakly. He wouldn't ever admit it, but he thought it was cute. Megan picked a picture of shirtless Conner; no big surprise there.

Kaldur picked a picture of him and Tula, his heart heavy. He couldn't help himself though. The heart wants what it wants, even if what it wants is unachievable. Conner picked a picture of him and Megan, no surprise, of when they kissed in the prison, but he made an effort to hide it from the others. Artemis picked a picture where Wally was face planting into a wall. She didn't recognize the place, but she wasn't sure of how long the young Justice League had been together so they could have half a million missions that she wasn't aware of.

They all colored happily in a comfortable silent, random tunes being hummed under people's breaths as they switched off colors, mumbling to the person beside them about what so and so wore in the certain picture. They never finished though. Just as soon as they had finished coloring the people in the picture, they all shared the same feeling, stopping them all cold. They all could feel tiny needles poking in and out of their skin quickly. It didn't exactly hurt, but it wasn't as comfortable as the silence had been.

"W-What's going on?" Robin breathed shakily. "I-I can't feel my wrists…"

It was so quiet that he had no need to speak very loud for anyone to heart him.

"My feet are numb," Wally whispered.

"M-My fingertips…" Artemis glanced down at her pale digits.

"My head," Megan muttered, slowly reaching her hands up to clutch it seeing that it hurt to move very fast.

"My… muscles?" Conner looked at his forearms that throbbed furiously.

Kaldur stared silently at the black tattoos on his arms, shaking lightly in pain. Suddenly, it was as if someone had unplugged them all. They all simultaneously collapsed, losing all color that they weren't naturally born with. Then, to their unknowing, the books before them began to glow brightly, humming the same tunes that they had hummed before the books seemed to explode, a fine glitter falling over the teammates. The glitter pulsed once, causing them all to glow a bright white before Conner's words flew through the air like a calm wind.

"_You could feel like a child again_," it breathed before everything fell silent.

**Okay, if I used the description I intended, I totally just ruined the second chapter for ya'll. Hope ya liked it… If you did, uh, review? It'd be really nice… Or flame me… I don't care, that's a review too, just a negative one… Oh, and check out the poll on my profile! I'm curious to see what you all think. **

**-FrankandJoe3**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm actually surprised people liked this! Thank you all for reviewing though! You put me into a great mood! (I type this as I'm about to go to bed, so the A/N or whatever it's called may be way different… That's women for you though! Gotta love us and our mood swings… unless you're like my dad and you say you just love us because we can cook and clean… but he's a racist bastard, so what does he know?**

**Disclaimer: I claim the idea of this for me, but the Simpson's probably already did it. *South Park Reference* I OWN NOTHING**

As a sidekick and as a hero, Robin had seen some pretty weird stuff. He'd seen the cool weird that you laugh about, the questionable weird that made him doubt himself and the kind of weird that made him want to claw his eyes out and drill a hole through his head just so the thought would leak out. What he saw when he opened his eyes was a new level of weird though. It was strange enough to make him cry out and scramble back, waking both Kaldur and Wally. When they opened their eyes, they cried out in surprise too, ultimately waking up Artemis, Conner and Megan who cried out at the sight too.

"What's going on?" Megan asked, her voice higher pitched and younger.

No one knew what was happening. All they knew was that they didn't necessarily recognize the person beside them anymore. Aqualad, Robin, Miss Martian, Kid Flash, Artemis and Superboy were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a bunch of kids sat in the living room, their clothes six times too big for their bodies.

In Kaldur's place was a boy who looked to be about eight. He had short blonde hair that was longer than older Kaldur had it styled. His misty blue eyes were wide with surprise and his skin was the same dark tint as ever. The tattoos on his arms seemed a bit smaller, but they were still the same shade of black. His blue and black fell halfway down his thighs, the sleeves hanging a good 10 inches from his fingers.

In Conner's place was a boy who also looked to be eight. He had black hair long enough to tousle and mess with, but not quite long enough for pig tails and braids. His eyes were still the same dark shade of heartless blue and he was still as pale as ever. His black shirt with the Superman symbol on the front fell just barely to the top of his knees, seeing that Kaldur was taller than him.

Sitting where Megan had been once was a monster to say the least. It had white bubbly skin, scarlet eyes, huge and keen fangs and was about five times the height of anyone in the room. **[1] **It gave off a shriek and soon was replaced by a little girl. She, just like those before her, seemed eight. She had short red hair that was in low braided pig tails. Her freckles weren't as noticeable anymore and her skin was a considerably lighter shade of green than normal. Her amber eyes were way larger than normal with what had to be fear. Thanks to the fact that her clothes easily adapted to her body, she was in a pair of Capri's and a white tank top with a pink jacket.

On the arm where Artemis had been sat a girl who looked roughly seven. She had short blonde hair that wasn't in a ponytail for once. Her white shirt hung closer to her knees, but it wasn't quite there yet. Her black cardigan's sleeves fell only a few inches over her fingers. She didn't seem as scared as she was embarrassed that she was half naked like the rest of the team whose pants all seemed to have mysteriously disappeared into the air.

A few feet from her where Wally had been earlier was a little seven year old boy. He had shaggy red hair that could probably be put up into tiny pig tails if necessary. His emerald eyes were the same as ever, but he didn't seem scared or embarrassed at all. His freckles were stronger and more resilient as they attacked the bridge of his nose. His yellow shirt fell maybe an inch past his knees and his red jacket which had originally fallen to his elbows now was closer to his wrists.

Then, where Robin had sat originally, was a panicked boy who seemed to be about five. He had short brown hair, terrified cornflower colored eyes and pale skin. The bandages on his arms were now further stretched out, reaching down to his elbows, but his jacket hung a foot past his fingertips, so it was impossible to see. His shirt fell past his knees and he was definitely the most adorable of them all. Wally almost didn't recognize him.

"Rob?" he asked in wonder, wincing at how high pitched his voice was.

The brunette looked at him curiously before scooting to the edge of the couch and looking down. He frowned, turning onto his stomach before slowly sliding off until his bare toes touched to the hardwood.

"What happened to us?" Kaldur asked, looking over his team of kids.

"We colored in those books… and then we all passed out," Conner remembered, looking around for said books.

The coffee table was completely bare. There wasn't a smudge or a finger print to it. There was absolutely no sign of any crayons, markers or coloring pages with their older faces.

"Looks like Batman _did _give us something that could harm us," Wally teased Robin.

He tensed up when the little brunette reached up and grabbed his hand. His five year old hand was so small that he could only get a firm hold on the redhead's pinky, ring and middle finger. Wally's cheeks turned pink and he suspiciously looked at his younger best friend. The little boy had a determined angry look on his face as he tugged hard on Wally's hand.

"Come on!" he whined in a cute little accented toddler voice. "We gotta go!"

Wally hopped off the couch, but he didn't follow the brunette.

"Go where?" he asked, not minding the pale hand in his.

"We gotta tell daddy!" Robin said simply, shooting Wally a look that made him feel rather stupid although he had no reason to feel it.

Kaldur hopped off the couch, aiming to join them. Megan and Conner didn't move from their chair. Artemis was torn between staying and following, but she figured that since Robin hadn't led Wally anywhere that she could sit there until they moved.

"Who's 'Daddy'?" Wally asked, looking way down on his friend.

"Ba'man," Robin explained, putting his other hand on Wally's wrist and attempting to get the ginger to move.

Wally didn't show a sign of any sort that he'd be moving any time soon. He just closed his fingers around the pale hand, frowning down on his little bird.

"Why do we need him?" he probed curiously, raising an eyebrow.

Robin's eyes narrowed.

"We're kids! That obviously isn't normal!" he pointed out, stuttering over 'obviously'.

Wally grinned, setting a hand over his lips to hide a laugh at how adorable Robin's voice. The brunette was obviously pissed about it, but he had no control over it.

"Wally!" he whined, digging his heels into the hardwood and trying to drag the ginger with him.

Most five year olds were just weak and huggable, but this five year old had some serious upper arm strength. Being an acrobat required strength, even at such a young age, but only little Robbie boy himself knew that. His strength made Wally stagger, mostly because he was caught off guard, but he dug his own bare heels into the floor and resisted. Artemis whapped him across the back of his head angrily. He winced, staggering again before whirling to face her, tightening his hold on the ebony.

"Robin has a point," Kaldur said for her, folding his little arms over his little chest.

Wally sighed.

"I know… but he's cute when he's mad!" he admitted.

Robin stiffened for a moment before he glared.

"Then I'm about to get damn sexy," he tried to sound menacing, but the angrier he sounded the more adorable he was.

Wally grinned ear to ear, setting a hand to his melting heart.

"See!" he squealed.

Robin rolled his eyes, continuing to tug at Wally's hand, trying to get him to walk. This time, the ginger took the hint and began to walk with Robin, never loosening his hold on the tiny hand. Megan and Conner finally got up from their chair, walking side by side. Conner didn't even seem to remember that his girlfriend had been a large and menacing white monster a few minutes ago. He just slipped his pale hand in her pale green one and they walked at the back of the line.

"Any idea where your mentor is, my dearest ornithological friend?" Wally stumbled over the scientific term for bird.

He had to walk a bit slower since Robin was shorter with stubbier legs and very unstable, but he didn't mind in the slightest. Robin seemed to be focusing on staying upright, clinging to the older boy's hand to keep from face planting like his legs wanted him to.

"Probably back in Gotham," Robin said grimly, poking his tongue between his lips in concentration.

Wally kept his eyes on the brunette, mesmerized. He was so used to calling the little five year old his 'ebony'. He never would've guessed that the black was fake. Then something occurred to him. He turned his head back, looking at Conner.

"Yo Supey! If we're all turned into kids, why are you one? Weren't you manufactured in a tube?"

Conner looked up in surprise, widening his eyes at the reminder. That had occurred to him in the depths of his mind, but he hadn't necessarily thought on it. He shrugged lightly.

"Maybe we were all just shrunk?" he offered in a tone that showed that he didn't really give a crap on the matter.

Wally shook his head.

"If we were all shrunk, little Robbie here would have black hair," Wally tousled the short brown hair beside him with his free hand, smiling widely at how soft it was. "It's like velvet!"

Robin couldn't hide a weak smile as he scrunched up his nose at the affection. He had half a mind to comment about the monster he had seen in Megan's place, but he figured no one would believe him. He did look only five after all. Instead, he looked up at Wally awkwardly.

"KF?" he asked nervously. "Can you do me a favor?"

The ginger was already looking at him.

"Depends what you need," he smiled.

Robin coughed lightly, stumbling over his feet and giving a groan of aggravation.

"I can't walk in these feet!" he complained, hoping Wally would take the hint.

Wally was always a little thick though, no giggity intended. He just blinked.

"Can you… carry me?" Robin set his left hand to his neck weakly.

Wally shrugged, not even having to think over it. He bent down a little, seeing that he was 4'4" and Robin was barely 3'2". He picked the brunette up like he would a baby, one arm around his back and the other under his butt to hold him up like a car seat. He walked a bit faster now, but his hand grew cold.

"So… how do we get a hold of Bats?" Wally asked, his eyes darting six inches to his left where Robin's eyes were located.

The brunette was smiling comfortably, laying his head against the oversized jacket exhaustedly, closing his eyes. He was adorable enough to eat.

"My costume's in my room… I could call him on the com link," he offered sleepily.

Wally turned back to the others, gesturing down at the adorable figure in his arms. The others couldn't hide warm smiles as their hearts melted.

"You don't mind me going through your stuff?" Wally asked his newly made brunette, his tone teasing.

"Just… this once," Robin yawned, adjusting his head weakly.

He folded his arms so they rested under his chest, lying up against Wally's chest. He could feel the fast paced heartbeat race through his fingertips, making him smile wider.

Wally smiled victoriously, mentally whooping and hollering excitedly. The situation was bad, but he didn't mind at all. He got to hold a robin in his arms; he was holding a sleepy baby; he was hugging his best friend. All of these were things he'd never done before. It felt nice. Well, it felt nice until Wally remembered that they'd have to explain this all to Batman. A shiver ran down his back at the thought. But then he looked down at the near-slumbering brunette in his arms and the shiver stopped.

**[1] White Martian. Google it.**

**Alright, to those who think Robin was born an ebony… he probably was, but I think he'd be a cute brunette too so let me dream. Anyway, yeah, KF/Rob. I'm a fangirl, what'ya want from me? Anyway, how would you turn a kid back into a teen? I know… but you don't! AHAHAHAAHAHA! I probably just jinxed myself and I'm going to forget in a minute or two… *shrug* Review?**

**-F.J. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Dustin came to visit today (: He brought Morgan though… she isn't as bad as I put her out to be, but she's… maybe I'm just racist? I didn't have a problem with Dusty's white wife… No, I'm not racist. She changed my bubby from his gangster self to a religious bible humper, and not the good kind. I have a reason to be standoffish about her… She's pretty though. I don't want her dead, yet, so I think I'm good for now. **

**Disclaimer: [insert witty way for saying I own nothing]**

With a sleepy smile, closed eyes and slow breathing, Dick had convinced the others that he had managed to fall asleep on Wally's comfortable shoulder. He knew that they didn't have a long distance to walk, just down the elevator because Wally didn't want to 'trip and kill Robin because he couldn't see the stairs' and cross a small distance of fifty feet down the hall to his room at his second house as he deemed it, but Wally seemed to be going a lot slower than normal. Earlier, the redhead had tried to run them both down to Robin's room, but he hadn't gone any faster than a jog, obviously pissing him off a little.

He was actually thinking about Batman's new lady. Earlier, he had winked about it, seeming to be happy about his near-daddy's chance at a happy ending. Truth was, he was heartbroken and miserable about it. Before _she _had dropped into Bruce's life like a nuclear bomb, poisoning everything within seeing distance of Ground Zero, Bruce only had two people in his life: Alfred and Dick. Now, the only person Bruce seemed to care for anymore was that succubus.

Dick fantasized about driving a batarang deep into her stomach or shoving a batbomb down her throat. Sometimes, he saw himself running her over several times in his Robin-cycle until she was sawed into bloody, gory halves. Other times, he imagined paying the Joker to kidnap her and kill her off in front of his mentor, but that was where he drew the line. He may have been over-reactive, but he wasn't quite yet homicidal. She had only been with him for a week now. He could scare her away before then. If not, then maybe he'd pay the circus freak a visit at Arkham, but he was sure she'd be gone way before then. There was only room for two people in Bruce's life, and _she _wasn't one of those two. Either she left, or he did.

Dick was snapped from the depressing thoughts as he was jostled about unintentionally. His eyes fluttered open, dropping quick to a squint at the change of lighting. He was surprised to see that he was already outside of his room. He was now resting against Wally's hip as the redhead reached up to open the door. Emerald eyes glanced down at him and the seven year old jumped in surprise. The surprise faded to happiness which transitioned to concentration as Dick was settled back onto Wally's right arm instead of his hip as they entered the room.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty," the ginger teased lightly, setting the brunette down on his quilt covered bed.

Dick didn't stay on the quilts long though. With a bit of difficulty, he slid down onto the wood floor, landing beside the ginger. He was surprised to see that the others weren't in the room, but he was relieved nonetheless.

"They went off to try to find Red Tornado or Captain Marvel," Wally answered the unspoken question in the air.

Dick paused, taking a moment to realize that Wally was referring to the others. He nodded.

"It's under the bed," he answered Wally's unspoken question.

The ginger raised an eyebrow.

"My costume," he explained.

Wally got down on his hands and knees, peering under the bed curiously. All he saw was a rectangular white box.

"The only thing under here is a box," he commented, staying down on his hands and knees.

Dick sighed, face palming lightly with his cute midget hands. He crawled under his bed, not having to duck, pulling the box out with him. When he was out on the floor again with Wally, he pushed the white box towards the ginger, gesturing for him to open it. Wally happily obliged, prying the top off of the small box. Inside, Robin's costume was folded into a cute little square with his domino mask on top, a yellow circle with a rectangle through the middle next to it. Dick picked up the yellow object. Wally blinked at it suspiciously.

Dick ignored the look though. Instead, he handed the object to Wally, crossing his legs Indian style. Wally grabbed it, staring hard at it. First, he felt around it curiously, trying to find a button of a sort. After he had raped every section of the strange shape, he took to pulling and pushing at it. That didn't do anything either. He tried spinning it, popping it, breaking it, hitting it, yelling at it and just flat out glaring at it. With a growl, he finally surrendered after five amusing minutes of struggling. He gave it back to Dick, grumbling under his breath. The five year old took it in his hands, a cute smirk on his lips, his dimples wide and adorable.

He pushed in on the vertical rectangle, turning the circle clockwise and pulled the vertical rectangle back out. The device let out a near silent hiss before the circle popped up and the rectangle's expanded until he held the now extra large belt in his hands. Wally set his hands to his head, groaning loudly in frustration. Dick set the belt down in his lap, covering his lips with his hands and giggling. Wally's frustration cut short and he grinned ear to ear, glowing madly at how adorable the high pitched laughter was. He clapped in amusement, giggling to himself at it.

"I don't know about 'damn sexy', but you're getting pretty close with that giggle of yours," Wally grinned slyly, drawing a surprised smile from the brunette's lips.

Dick's ears turned a dark scarlet, a cute blush lining his cheek bones. He averted his eyes to the new sized utility belt, staring hard at it for a moment. He may have opened it, but that was the easy part. He was used to setting his hand to his one position on his hip to grab rope and to get a batbomb from his five. Now though, his one would be the clasp and his five would be what had once been his three. He was screwed over now. With a sigh, he mentally crossed his fingers hopefully, counting over four pouches to the left. He slipped the top off of it, fumbling with his new stubby fingers. Wally stared suspiciously at what was pulled from the pouch.

"Why do you have rat poison? … and is that lipstick?" he peered hard at the red smudge along the edge. "What is that?"

Dick shrugged off the panic, slipping the half-empty poison bottle back into the belt.

"Just a failed attempt," he said calmly.

He moved to the pouch beside it, pulling the top of the next item out so he could see it better. Wally freaked out a little at the sight. It was the tip to a tazor. What freaked him out the most though was the blood splatter on the edge.

"Is that 'just a failed attempt' too?" Wally moved closer, sitting to the direct left of his little friend, their knees brushing gently.

He went to grab it, but Dick stubbornly sealed the pouch, pushing Wally's pale hand away. Dick went to open the next pouch, obviously not wanting to answer. Wally's hand wrapped tightly around his wrist in a grip that was strong, but not painful.

"Why was your tazor bloody?" Wally's voice was gentle, the complete bipolar of his grip.

Dick bit his lower lip, squirming uncomfortably.

"Well… having your tazor and epi pen side by side when you're having an allergic reaction is a… stupid idea," he mumbled, sliding to the next pouch.

Wally winced, scared at the thought of his little birdie almost dying because of something so careless.

"Wait-… epi pen? That means you've got a bad allergy. Why didn't you tell me?" his mind went through all the food he had offered the Boy Wonder, only to be turned down by a hidden look of longing.

Wally had always thought that Dick was anorexic, but allergies made a lot more sense. Dick didn't glance his way. He just set his free hand to the pale wrist that trapped him in place, prying it off. Then he pulled an earwig from the pouch, sliding it into his ear.

"I didn't think you'd care," Dick said it casually, adjusting the earwig with a tad bit of OCD-like symptoms.

He fiddled a bit more before he managed to get a hold of his mentor.

"Robin? You know I'm at work. What'd I tell you about calling while I'm at work?" Bruce's voice crackled back into his ear.

"Batman… it's kind of an emergency," Dick didn't even think of how his voice might sound.

There was a long silence.

"Who is this?" Batman asked suspiciously after what felt like forever.

Dick exchanged glances with Wally.

"Uh… it's me? Robin?" he said slowly.

"What's wrong with your voice?"

Dick hesitated.

"Uh… long story…"

"My meeting doesn't start until four. You have five minutes. Start talking," Bruce commanded.

Dick could hear him drum his fingers impatiently against his desk, scaring him just the slightest. He was getting antsy.

"Well… in the box, there were these coloring books with our faces in them… we thought it'd be fun to color so we all sat down and colored. Then… I felt like I was being stabbed by a million little needles. We passed out. When we woke up, we were kids. I'm not sure how old we are, but I'd say I'm between four and six, Artemis and KF are between six and eight, and Megan, Conner and Kaldur are between eight and ten. So uh… help?" the last word came out as a desperate plead.

The silence was so long that Dick was sure that his mentor had hung up on him.

"I'm on my way," exhausted words filled his ears before he was sure that his mentor had officially dropped the call.

Dick tucked the earwig back into its pouch, frowning lightly. He then began to refold his belt.

"Since when do you not carry your utility belt? Didn't you tell me that keeping your utility belt on at all times was one of Batman's biggest rules?" Wally asked, watching the pouches be pushed together, the circle be turned clockwise and the rectangles be pulled out, making a loud click.

Dick didn't answer until after he had set the belt back into the box and pushed it far under his bed. Even after he had done that, he had to slip off his jacket; with much difficulty might I add. His arms were soon showed to the world before the tight bandages that bound them were slowly unwrapped.

"I got into an accident last week. I stepped in the path of a knife that was heading for a little girl. It's what I get for playing hero. Totally worth it though," he set the left bandages on the dresser top, "Her mom was a total babe. So was her sister."

Wally snickered, lightly punching the five year old.

"You player," he teased.

Dick looked like he had a good come back, but he stopped when the right bandage was off. His arms weren't bare, but there was no stab wound. Instead, there were several deep and dark bruises. Dick froze.

"W-What…" it wasn't even a question, just a whisper.

Curiously, he stood to his feet, putting a hand to Wally's leg to himself up. He slid his shirt up over his head, looking down at his chest. He figured since he was probably five, he had nothing to show off; at least for another two years anyway. He was surprised to see that he was dead wrong. His chest was covered in hardcore bruises too. That wasn't the worst of it though. He had a huge deep cut through his stomach, ten inches long and an inch wide. It was stitched closed, but it looked fresh. Wally nearly jumped out of his skin, his eyes bulging.

"Dude!" he cried, scrambling back in horror. "W-We have to get you to a hospital!"

Dick shook his head, his eyes distant. He was thinking hard. Then he screwed his eyes up tightly, mumbling under his breath. He set a hand to the top of his brown hair, frowning hard.

"August… 27th… two thousand… uh… three. 8/27/03," he finally decided.

Wally blinked. He cautiously crept back, going as slow as his feet and hands could carry him.

"Eight years ago… my brother Matt and I were messing around by the football fields… we were bored and he suggested we hop the fence and go to the playground. The fence was barbed wire at the top with the footholds and stuff, but the other side had a teeter totter and swings and stuff, and it was only four feet high. Matt offered to help me up and I… I tried climbing it myself. Mom saw us and screamed at us, I slipped… the barbed wire cut my stomach and I fell onto the hill on the other side. It was a hill, I slid down it onto the playground… which was rocked…" Dick had a sad look on his face.

"Point is, I know how old we are. We were aged back eight years. I'm five, you and Artemis are seven and the others are eight. We were aged back to the 30th, two days after I had gotten stitches…"

Wally blinked again, his eyes studying the bruises and stitches carefully.

"Well…" he fell silent, getting to his feet.

Dick slid his shirt back on, rewrapping his wrists to hide the bruises.

"I don't know about you… but I just got really hungry. Do you think we still have that pizza from last night?" Wally asked hopefully.

Dick couldn't help but grin.

"Probably not."

Wally shrugged, scooping up his little boy, cradling him in his arms again.

"One way to find out," Wally stated the obvious, walking back to the door.

Dick rested his head against Wally's oversized shirt, closing his eyes again. Now his mind was on that day. Matt had screamed his heart out, leaping over the fence as if he was Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. He had picked up Dick and bolted back up the hill, scaling the fence again, sobbing for someone to call 911. His mom had been just as panicked as she had dialed the number for the hospital, tears falling from her eyes. It had been nice to have been cared for. Back then, he only had two things to worry about: his family and the circus. Now, he only had one thing to worry over: everything.

**Okay… I don't know what it's like to have a parent dating someone else. All I know is from what I understood from my dearest Wicked Wizard of Oz. The only thing I know personally about the feelings though is how I felt when Mommy started flirting with our waiter at Olive Garden. I mean, he was sexy enough to make Dick Grayson and Brendon Urie look like Mort from Family Guy, but that doesn't make it okay. And yeah, doesn't it figure, she does it right after she tells me that her dad are considering divorce, minus the paper work. Oh well, sorry I didn't focus on the plot. I think I have fictionally ADD. It's difficult to focus. Review?**

**-F.J. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, overdue for an update. I had my best friend laugh me up on dick jokes and sexist jokes, so I'm a pretty good mood. GET THIS DONE!**

When Batman walked into Mt. Justice, he expected that he'd end up screaming at Robin for sabotaging yet another perfect date. The first time, he had purposely unscrewed the wine rack and shot a batbomb purposely at it so the wine bottles shattered all over the ground. Then, he had cut himself in various places to make it look like the bottles had fallen over him. The sound had attracted the ears of the Dark Knight and his fair maiden who had ran downstairs. Of course, the fair haired woman had screamed in a panic at the sight of the bloody boy, so Bruce had to play hero and help him, but he had known from the start it was all just a way to cut the date short

The second time, Bruce accused Dick of slipping peanuts into his drink at dinner. He had come down to tell Bruce goodnight, getting a final drink before bed when he started choking, gasping and turning blue. Bruce didn't know if Dick had actually gone near-suicidal or if Alfred just hadn't cleaned out the glass well enough, but either way, he had to take his little boy to the hospital, cutting the fine candlelit dinner to an end.

That's only where it started. Dick's antics and techniques got worse and crueler, going as far as to sabotage the mistress. Bruce didn't blame Dick though. The poor kid had seen his parents get murdered, just as he had, except Dick was taken in by a stranger. Dick had come to fall in a family sort of love with this stranger, depending on him for everything from the breath he breathed to the beating of his heart. Then, suddenly, his stranger was stolen from him by some lady who was the same as any normal whore you could pick up on the corner of 4th and Main. Sure, Dick was extremely overreacting and would need to be taken to a counselor or therapist soon, but it made somewhat of since if you were to try to think of it from his perspective.

Nothing could've prepared the experienced 'world's greatest detective' for what he found waiting for him in the living room area.

First off, he didn't recognize anyone in the room. Instead of experienced and muscled heroes, waiting anxiously for his arrival by amusing themselves in various ways, six little kids sat there.

Out of the group, there were only two girls. They looked to be about seven and eight. They sat at the bar in chairs as the redhead braided the blonde's hair into cute little pigtails. The redhead had green skin, light freckles dusting the underneaths of her eyes. The blonde was just that, wearing an oversized white shirt like a dress, her jacket tied around her waist as a backwards apron. The blonde was the first to notice Batman. She raised a hand in a wave, doing her best not to move so she wouldn't mess up the braids.

"Howdy mister," she smiled at him.

Batman blinked in confusion, but he chose not to question. It was obvious that those two were Artemis and Miss Martian. Behind them were two boys who looked the same age, maybe eight or nine.

One boy had dark skin but yellow hair, black tattoos lining what you could see on his arms. His white shirt hung down on him like a dress, his pants nowhere to be seen. His blue jacket was discarded on the ground beside him. The other boy was white and buff, his hair a black tangled mess. His eyes were a dark blue and for half a second, Batman thought it was Dick, but he could tell from the anger in his eyes that it wasn't. This boy wore an oversized Superman shirt. They were tossing a milk carton back and forth like a football. It was obviously Conner and Kaldur. Conner reached up and caught the carton before turning to look at Batman.

"No thanks," he said casually, the look on his face showing that he obviously didn't recognize the strange man in the bat suit.

He tossed the carton back to Kaldur, but the dark skinned boy didn't see it coming. It smacked him in the side of the face, making him cry out in pain, his eyes tearing off of the stranger. He mumbled something about Conner being a butthead before picking up the carton and chucking it back.

Then, finally, Batman turned his attention to the last two boys. They were obviously Dick and Wally, except Dick barely looked five and Wally looked either six or seven. Wally was lying on the couch on his side, his back resting against the back of the couch. Dick lay in front of him on his side, his back to Wally's stomach so the older boy could hug him like a teddy bear. They had earphones in the airs that were pointed skyward that were connected to the IPod in one of Wally's hands that rested beside the ebony's own pale fingers, but both were fast asleep, soft snores escaping their open lips.

Dick had his hair black, long and messy, the way the ladies liked it. **[1] **Wally's hair was the same style, only a bright red and energetic freckles crossed over the bridge of his nose. They both had on oversized white shirts, hidden by their jackets that rested over their bodies as weak attempts for blankets.

Batman looked helplessly around the room. He was Batman, not a goddamned babysitter. That was Red Tornado and Captain Marvel's job. When he finally accepted that none of the conscious kids recognized him, he groaned, face-palming shamefully before putting his brain to work.

XxXxX

All six of the kids sat on the couch, lined from shortest to tallest, shoulders touching. It started with Dick, then Wally, followed by Artemis, Megan, Conner and finally Kaldur. The last four were on full alert, looking curiously at Batman who sat on the coffee table in front of them. Dick was out of it though, resting his head on Wally's shoulder, his eyes half open. Wally stifled a yawn, wrapping a weak arm around the small ebony to keep him from falling off of the couch.

"Kids-… er… what do you… six… remember?" Batman had a hard time on trying to decide what to address them as, seeing that they didn't seem to have a clue of who he was.

"My name is Kaldur and I _should _be in Atlantis right now, studying," Kaldur said crossly.

"I'm… I'm an experiment…" Conner set a hand to his head, furrowing his eyebrows greatly.

"I'm Megan… and I'm not on Mars anymore," Megan observed, staring down at her green skin curiously.

"I'm Artemis and… mom should be getting home from prison soon…" Artemis looked around madly for a calendar of a sort.

"Wally West at your service," Wally held up his hand in a weak wave, flashing a trademark forced grin, "and the neighbors almost called Child Protective Services on my parents last week because they were screaming so loud, they were heard through the walls. I'm pretty sure Uncle Barry's going to adopt me soon though, so it'll be okay."

"… Dick… Mommy said I could be in the act next year… if I kept cleaning my plate and listening to her and daddy…" Dick yawned, weakly hugging the arm beside him, awfully close to losing consciousness again.

Batman had been fine with the others although Artemis and Wally had hurt his heart a little. When Dick had spoken though, Batman felt as if he had just been stabbed in the heart with his own batarang.

"None of you recognize me?" he confirmed, feeling hopeless.

Everyone shook their heads except for Dick who seemed to have slipped out of it again. No one made an effort to wake him up though. The batarang turned into a string of barbed wire with a batarang every other inch that wound itself tightly around his heart. He had heard of broken hearts before, but he had before just dismissed them. Now though, he felt like his heart was sinking in his chest, burning as it died inside of him. Batman bit his lip discreetly, digging his nails into the wood of the coffee table.

"Who are you?" Kaldur asked curiously, standing up off the couch and aiming to pull down the black mask.

Batman caught his little wrist and lowered it back to his side weakly, being as gentle as he could manage in his angry state.

"I'm Batman. I'm your team leader. I give you missions and you perform them, saving people," he tried to start out simple.

"Like a superhero?" Wally rubbed at his right eye with his only free hand.

Batman nodded.

"You're all heroes actually."

They all tensed, all except cute little Dick. Batman struggled with calling them by their real names, but he knew they wouldn't answer to anything else.

"Kaldur… you're known as Aqualad. You can manipulate water… and you were sidekick to Aquaman," Kaldur stared at his webbed fingers, seeming to remember something and smiling weakly to himself.

Batman turned to Conner, pointing his way to get his attention.

"The team named you Conner, but you're known as Superboy. You have super strength, you can leap tall buildings in a single bound…" he didn't want to bring up Superman so he just let Conner sit there in confusion.

"Megan, you're known as Miss Martian. You have the same powers you were born with and you came here with you uncle, Martian Manhunter," Megan smiled widely at the memory of her uncle.

"Artemis, you're… Green Arrow's… 'niece'. You're good with arrows," Artemis shrugged lazily, not all too specific on the matter.

"W… Wally… you're known as Kid Flash and you're sidekick to the Flash. You have super speed," to that, Wally tried moving his hand quickly in front of his face, but it was normal speed.

"And Dick…" the ebony perked up lightly at hearing his name, "you're known as Robin. You have no powers specifically, but you're good with computers and gadgets. You're my sidekick."

Dick blinked his eyes weakly, looking hard at Batman, trying to recognize him.

"What about momma? And daddy? Are they heroes too?" he asked hopefully.

Batman frowned secretly, setting a gloved hand to his neck.

"Uh… yeah… they can..." he coughed weakly, "they can fly…"

Dick's eyes lit up as excitedly as they could manage with him being this tired.

"Can I see them?"

It broke Batman's heart to even try to think of a lie.

"No… they're… they're out on a really long mission. I could take you home though," he offered.

Dick shook his head, holding tighter to Wally's arm.

"Nuh uh! I not going without Kay Eff," he put extra pronunciation on the k and he drug out the f.

Batman wasn't about to take the ginger home so he bowed his head silently, bringing his interlaced fingers to his closed lips.

"Alright. I'm going to go get the other heroes," he decided, standing to his feet.

He was halfway to the door when he stopped cold in his tracks.

"Dick, why'd you call him KF?" Batman asked slowly.

The ebony looked back at him and seemed confused by the question.

"It sounded right," he shrugged.

The Dark Knight's eyes furrowed. This definitely wasn't going to be easy.

**[1] As I read this over a second time, I realized it could be interpreted sexually and racist-like. I didn't mean it to sound like either. I just like when guys have long and messy hair, and black hair is sexy ;)**

**Alright, they lost their memories. That's fun to toy with. And you had a brief hint at the fair maiden, but I dunno if you'll get her. The only reason I picked her was because the P!ATD music video to 'Mercenary' had a lot of pictures of her and Batman… I don't support the pairing, but it's better than an OC I guess… Hope you liked it…**

**-F.J.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Already seven and she's only finished one. _Pathetic_. Let's see if I can do this! Sorry this is late. Well, maybe I'm not sorry. If I was sorry, I would've updated sooner. Oh yes, quite the bitch, right? *Tee Hee* Just pretend that you don't want to strangle me~ **

**Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I _totally _own YJ. -.-* Damn, why must we write these? If we owned the damn show, would we be writing fanfiction?**

Bruce frowned down at his wine glass, fingering the bottom. He longed to just down the whole bottle and forget it all, but the pain from the memories was the kind that could be temporarily tolerated with only three glasses of wine in your system. The woman across from him reached over and lovingly took his hand in hers, offering him a sweet smile.

"Is everything okay?" she asked gently.

Her voice caused an avalanche down his back, the chills making goose bumps decorate his arms like lights to the Christmas tree. He smiled widely at the gesture, shaking off the excess snow.

"I'm… my boy's gone on vacation for a while. I just miss him," he stretched the truth a little, lovingly sliding his thumb over her fingers.

She frowned slightly, but then she grinned as a giggle escaped her lips as an idea passed through her head.

"I could help you forget him for the night," she offered, seductively chewing at her bottom lip.

Bruce's eyes lit up, the idea sounding perfect to him, but at the same time, it just didn't feel right.

"Thanks Selina," he brought her pale hand to his lips for a moment, "But just not tonight. I might need your help tomorrow though…"

A cute giggle slipped past her scarlet lips and she grinned happily, her face lighting up with a light blush. He lightly released her fingers, taking a long sip of wine. He only did so to hide the sickness he felt. That cute little giggle made his stomach turn in pain. It reminded him so much of his real baby, the one that he was slowly losing. When the glass touched down, he stood to his feet and strode to her side.

"I'm going to go try to get a hold of him," Bruce apologized in his own way, ducking down to press a chaste kiss to her lips.

The fair haired woman wasn't just going to settle for that though. She carefully wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging him closer. Bruce failed to hide his frustration as yet again, he found himself wrapped around her delicate fingers. He probably wouldn't be _too _long. Besides, it's not like he could do anything until the lab finished processing everything he had done. He might as well enjoy himself until them.

XxXxX

Tears ran down Dick's red cheeks, but he said not a word as he walked next to Wally down the big hallway, holding hands with the ginger as they walked. They had mostly been silent, taking in how amazing the place was. Wally had nearly died when they had opened the fridge and when he had seen the costumes, he had started spasming in excitement. Dick hadn't been near as excited about anything. He was tired, scared and his feet hurt. It wasn't until they curiously poked their heads into one of the many rooms that Dick said his first four words of the hour.

"I want my mommy," he whispered, his voice breaking.

Terrified choky breaths came from his lips and he scrunched up his face in pain. Wally's eyebrows furrowed and he knelt down at Dick's side so they were eye level.

"Hey," he cooed lightly, brushing a few tears away with his thumb, forcing a gentle smile, "Watcha crying about, silly? Big boys don't cry!"

Dick cocked his head to the side in confusion before he tackled Wally in a hug, pressing his tear covered face into the oversized shirt, shaking madly. Wally kept right on smiling, only this smile was more watery. He wrapped his arms tightly around Dick, hugging him into his chest.

"'anna go home," Dick sobbed, grabbing Wally's shirt to make sure he wasn't going to fly away.

Wally glanced over, not sure quite of what to do.

"Well… I don't know where _your _house is, but you can come home with me," he offered slowly. "I'm pretty sure it's KFC night…"

Dick didn't answer for a moment. Instead, he stood there in the only person he recognized' arms, thinking for all a six year old could.

"I wanna be wish you," he said, purposely making his 'th' sound like 'sh'.

Wally grinned ear-to-ear before picking up the little ebony, carrying him carefully from the room, his eyes scanning for a phone.

**Sorry it's short but this was all I could manage. After all, I'm not sure why they're kids XD I'm pretty weak, eh? Yo, review!**

**-F.J. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Until Miss West gets back to me, I figured I had time to update. This is for tydeerose. I hope it's okay. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. **

Iris raised an eyebrow as she opened the front door. Her husband stood on the porch, two little children in his arms. The one in his left arm looked shockingly like Wally, maybe about eight. The one in his right was a small little raven-haired child with tear-stained cheeks who she didn't recognize. Two terrifying thoughts ran through her head at once. She hid her mouth with her hand, backing up lightly.

"O-Oh God… p-please tell me they aren't yours…" she begged, shaking lightly.

Barry shook his head, laughing at her worry. Before he could explain, she cut him off.

"Well, they aren't Wally's are they?" she was only a bit more than slightly hysteric.

Barry stepped forward and pressed a loving peck to her cheek, brushing past her into the house.

"Technically no," he assured her, taking a few steps before he knelt down and set them both to the floor.

Iris closed the front door behind her, kneeling down so she was eye level with the one who looked like Wally. He looked at her too, smiling widely.

"Hey Auntie Iris!" he grinned before glancing up at his uncle. "This isn't home. Where's momma?"

Wally missed the pained glance that his aunt and uncle exchanged as he turned around and grabbed Dick's pale hand to keep him from wandering off.

"No, no," Wally scolded, teasingly tapping the six year old's nose, making him cross his eyes with a bubbly giggle. "Stay here with me silly goose!"

Iris stood to her feet, setting an angry hand to Barry's arm.

"Who are they?" she hissed angrily under her breath.

Barry put an arm around her waist, pulling her close. Her red hair wasn't in its regular ponytail so it hung down in her face, driving him the good kind of crazy. He found her at the prime of her beauty when she had her hair down. It was beautiful like that, whether she liked hearing it or not.

"The smallest of them… he's… well, he's Bruce's kid. The ginger, he's… Wally."

It took Iris a moment to understand what he was saying.

"T-They're…" she started to ask, her eyes wide with confusion.

She raised an eyebrow as the boy who was supposed to be her little Wally picked up Dick and held him like a baby, spinning them around at a normal speed before stopping. The little ebony giggled excitedly, clapping his hands happily.

"Again! Again!" he begged, his eyes sparkling as more and more giggles spilled from his lips.

Wally obeyed with a laugh of his own, spinning them around and around before stopping suddenly to enjoy the cute little giggles.

"That's definitely Dick… but…" Iris stared down at Wally. "That's not my nephew. My nephew would be throwing him into the air and laughing as the poor kid screamed, then catching him at the last second. Who the hell is he?"

Barry frustratedly sighed.

"Honey I…" he frowned. "It's hard to explain, but that _is _Wally. Something happened with Batman's little team of graduated sidekicks and now they're all kids again. He's working on what happened, but I-…"

He stopped when he saw a soft smile start to replace the angry frown on his wife's face.

"I know…" she whispered, tears in her eyes, "but it's not _our _Wally. It's the old Wally…"

Iris wrapped her arms around her husband, torn between happiness and sadness. This Wally was so hopeful, so nice, so… human…

"Auntie Iris, can Dick stay? He dud-ent remember where he lives and he was scared," Wally batted his eyes innocently.

Dick was on the ground, hugging Wally's leg tightly. He was lightly sucking on his thumb, staring at Wally's hand that was close to his face as if to say, "Do I suck his hand too?" He didn't though. He just stayed latched to the ginger's leg. Iris and Barry exchanged similar glances.

"Well… alright, but just for tonight," Iris bent down, resting her hands on her knees as she crouched.

She could feel Barry staring at her ass, but she did her best to ignore it.

"I bet his mommy and daddy are worried sick about him!"

Wally grinned ear to ear, reaching down and prying his best friend from his leg.

"Hear that? You can stay!"

The youngest of them laughed happily first before stubbornly hugging Wally's arm and following him down the hall.

"Thanks!" Wally called over his shoulder before he disappeared into his room, closing the door behind him.

Iris straightened up and wiped at her eyes. Barry went to hold her, but she walked away from him.

"Let's just pray Batman works fast… I want my baby back," she choked out, her smile faltering.

Barry watched her walk away, setting a hand awkwardly to his neck.

"Smooth as butter, Allen," he scolded himself, kicking the carpet angrily.

There was nothing he could though. With a shrug, he picked up the TV remote, threw himself onto the couch and turned on the football game to console himself.

XxXxX

"So… I'm an experiment?" Conner raised an eyebrow, folding his hands in his lap.

Megan was already latched onto him like a leech, but he really couldn't care less. His brain was hurting something awful. Batman sighed exhaustedly, typing frantically into the computer.

"You aren't an experiment," he said slowly. "You're a clone."

Conner stared at his hands, pinching himself lightly. His hand twitched in response. He was real at least; that was a good thing.

"So… who's… Superman?" Conner found that that certain name stuck out in his brain.

Batman threw his hands up in frustration. He hated this. He hated kids. Where was Robin? Why wasn't he fixed yet? With a groan, he stormed off towards Black Canary.

"Watch them," he almost begged. "I'm working at home."

Black Canary rolled her eyes.

"They aren't so hard to watch," she teased with a warm smile.

Batman frowned. "I'm not a kid-person."

"You aren't a people-person," she argued.

The slightest of a smile flashed over the Dark Knight's lips before he disappeared, far from the little kids, missing his little boy like crazy.

**Eh… sorry it was half-assed. Bruce is working on it at least… :/ Review? **

**-F.J. **


	7. Chapter 7

**I like writing about kids. They're just so cute… but I noticed I messed up so I'm going to fix it without having to rewrite anything. I really like messing with kids and sense my dream's left me shitless, I'm going to try to let cuteness to help me. Stupid planes… why d'ya gotta crash… and kill me and Sam… stupid dogs… talking to me… calling me a bitch… -.-**

_**Now I hope you're happy with yourself 'cause I'm not laughing. **_

"Barry, the sooner you shut up, the sooner I can fix them. Now, shut the hell up and protect my baby. If he gets hurt, I _swear _I will jump through this phone and snap yours, Wally's and Iris' neck. You got that?"

Barry had to hold the phone away from his ear so Bruce wouldn't break his eardrums.

"Calm down, Wayne. Dick's okay. Wally and him are back in the bedroom, watching Spongebob and eating KFC. They've never been happier," he assured his friend, setting a hand to his head.

He heard the heavy sigh.

"I… I'll get right to work on fixing them…" Bruce sounded like he had more to say, but he hung up before he could.

Barry hung up on his side too, setting the phone back in its dock. He turned his eyes back to the football game, not even bothering to look amused. He was bored and he was proud to show it. Iris looked at him from the mirror, slipping in her earrings.

"Do you want me to ask the station if they'll run the story? We could get word out to faster and get help?" she offered.

Barry shook his head firmly, not even trying to think over it.

"Nah; to do that, we'd have to show the kids and I bet they won't dress up. Bats' certainly won't show his boy unmasked willingly. Even around the others, he has the poor kid douching up the place with his indoor shades."

Iris' expression saddened.

"Alright, sorry… I have to run off to work. Keep an eye on the boys," she dashed to his side, kissing him an inch or two above his ear.

He scrunched his nose up, smiling widely to himself.

"Kay; love you babe!" he called after her.

XxXxX

"Where's Master Dick?" Alfred inquired, raising an eyebrow as Bruce entered the Wayne Manor alone.

From the hurt expression that shifted over Bruce's face, Alfred couldn't help but assume the worst. Every negative possibility rushed through his head as he hurried to the eldest ebony's side.

"What happened? Was he hurt? Killed? Kidnapped? Where is he?" Alfred's words tangled themselves within another, unable to clear out of the way in time.

Bruce set a comforting hand to the worried butler's shoulder when it was him that needed it. He took a deep breath before walking into the study.

"Bruce!" Alfred desperately called, his eyes wide with fear.

Bruce stopped, frowning heavy as he turned around.

"He's fine Alfred," he sounded more like he was trying to assure him that. "He's with Kid Flash."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. Since when did Bruce trust his ward at someone else's house? He knew better than to question though.

"O-Oh… alright," he nodded curtly. "How many places should I set for dinner?"

Bruce turned back around and started walking.

"Just one," he said, his voice freezing.

Alfred frowned lightly, nodding. He turned around himself and headed to the kitchen, his heart a lead anvil in his chest. It was just like it was before they had been blessed with Dick; lonely and empty.

XxXxX

"What'd they say?" Wally asked, seated in his roll-chair, the laptop open, his fingers poised over the keyboard.

Dick had his little ear pressed to the door, a ninja turtle blanket draped over his shoulders.

"They think us watching sponge… Spongebob…" he stumbled over the name before grinning and dashing to Wally's side.

The ginger's eyes lit up and he helped Dick up onto the chair next to him. The little ebony scooted closer, resting his head on Wally's shoulder. He seemed attention starved, always wanting to be touching some part of the ginger. Wally didn't mind seeing that he was the same way.

"Good job bro," they weakly fist bumped before their eyes both darted to the computer screen.

Wally opened the internet to Google, going to the search bar. He glanced down at Dick, unable to hide a smile from how adorable the little boy was.

"Spell your name for me?"

Dick pursed his lips, looking up and thinking for the longest time.

"Big D… little ick… Big G… little ray… son," he spelled slowly.** [1]**

Wally raised an eyebrow, but his index fingers pecked at the keys until the youngest's name was spelt across the screen. He hit enter, waiting patiently for the internet to do its job. Dick tugged on his shirt sleeve, his eyebrows furrowed. Wally glanced back down at him, setting a hand over his little fingers so they'd stop tugging.

"Yeah?"

Dick stared at the pale hand over his for a second, his mind derailing for a second. When he realized he'd crash if he didn't focus, he shook his head and fought to remember his question.

"Why my hair black? Black _icky_," he stuck his tongue out, looking angry for a moment before he giggled.

Wally laughed, just old enough to grasp the concept of racism.

"Don't say that Dick. It'll get you in trouble," he secretly smiled to himself.

The youngest looked surprised, blushing lightly.

"Sorry," he apologized, with a shy smile. "But why my hair no brown?"

Wally looked closely at the kid's hair. He could see a trace of brown along the roots, but it looked black throughout the rest of it. He shrugged.

"I-," the Google search page popped up and he smiled confidently, "Looks like we're about to find out…"

**[1] "Big D, little I, big N, little ozzo."-Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS**

**So, Bruce is going to go to the Bat Cave to work so you know it just got serious up in here. And Wally was smart enough to realize all he had to do was Google stuff to catch him up… It's only a matter of time before we have a sobbing five year old on our hands. I messed up Dicky's hair color, so deal with meh (: I'm have the JL work on the case too… Probably. **

**-F.J. **


	8. Chapter 8

**To me, it's 2 AM and I'm tired. I don't think I'll be able to finish this until I wake up later. Six things to post. That's not enough though. I still have the Hangover thing to type, Dicky to update and that one stupid tea story that I might not even work on. I really am a review whore (: And the worst part is that I'm totally fine with it. Lovely, right? Eh, I still don't know why they're kids. I'll think of something… **

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing. **

Megan let out a cry of pain as the needle pricked her vein. Batman rolled his eyes, putting the needle back down on the table and waiting as the blood pooled up on her green skin. When enough had bubbled up to the surface, he took a small cotton square and dabbed the majority of it away. As Batman walked away to set that square underneath a microscope next to the other four samples, Kaldur walked up and pressed a band-aid over the bleeding patch of skin.

"Why again did you stab us?" Artemis sorely rubbed her arm, hopping off the metal table.

She offered a hand to Conner to help him, but he pushed her hand away, climbing down himself. Megan simply floated herself down, touching gently to the ground. Batman was going mad from being surrounded by that many kids, but he knew that this was to save his little boy so he suffered on a little.

"Because my little boy doesn't remember me," Batman said simply, hooking the microscopes up to the computer and typing in a few commands so the four DNA strands were up on the screen.

No one there really seemed offended that the hero didn't care for them. They just shrugged, all unconsciously rubbing their arms where they had been pricked. Then they turned to face each other, comparing memories. None of them remembered each other and no one was quite sure how they could remember. That's when Black Canary peeked her head into the room, smiling gently.

"I thought you said you weren't going to put up with these kids," she teased.

She crossed the floor, her heels clicking against the tile. Batman glanced her way for a moment, offering a weak smile to show he heard her.

"I'm not putting up with them," he argued. "As soon as I figure out what's wrong with them, I'm going to go find Robin and change him back."

The blonde woman folded her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow behind a smirk.

"You could be doing all this back at _your _cave. Why use ours?"

Batman said nothing for a moment, typing in several fast strings of commands. The four samples on the screen moved over, eight squares taking over the large screen with their faces next to the second set of squares.

"Because Robin doesn't remember me so he won't come-… back to _my_ cave. I'm just working with what I have," he explained himself.

Black Canary obviously didn't buy that story one bit.

"Come on, admit it! You're worried for these cute kids and you don't want them hurt. I know you have to have a heart _somewhere _in there," she teasingly tapped the bat symbol on his chest.

Batman shook his head, never looking her way. He sighed in annoyance.

"Don't you have an Arrow to bother?" he frowned hard, pulling up Artemis' blood sample sense she was the only pure human out of them all.

Black Canary smirked, turning away.

"Oliver's busy in Star City and I agreed to help keep an eye on the kiddos so you wouldn't end up killing them all," she walked towards the kids, stopping at the last moment.

They didn't remember her. What would be the use in talking to them? She backed up, setting a hand to her neck.

"Then get to work. I'm ready to ring their necks and stuff them so my son back home can have some play things for when I'm gone," Batman knew if they weren't in this situation, he never would've said that.

The death threat sure, he would scream that if need be, but it wasn't like him to comment on family. It caught the other hero in the room off guard.

"_You _have a son?" she asked, her voice full of doubt, cocking her head to the side.

Batman cursed under his breath, turning away from the screen.

"Plea- just take the kids out of here. I'm going to figure out why they're all kids again and change them back before I actually _do _try to kill them."

The blonde rolled her eyes, walking back up to the kids.

"Come on you guys, let's go make some lunch," she smiled motherly down at them.

They all grinned obviously pretty hungry.

"Thanks lady," Artemis grinned, being the first to dash out the door.

Megan was next, followed by Conner. Kaldur hesitated, slowly walking barefoot out the room. Black Canary urged him along, weakly waving back at Batman.

"If you need us…" she stopped when she saw that he wasn't going to look back.

With a heavy heart, she shut the door behind her and let the Dark Knight single-handedly do the work of the Dynamic Dup in silence.

XxXxX

Dick helped Wally carry the laptop over to the twin bed, waiting for the ginger to climb up onto the quilt before he tried to do the same. The support for the bed gave it extra height, making it obvious that he wouldn't be able to get up that high. Wally smiled and offered his friend a hand, pulling the little boy up onto the bed beside him. Once Dick had settled on his tummy, curling up close to his friend, Wally pulled the blanket up over their heads so no one could see what they were doing.

Dick excitedly giggled, propping himself up on his elbows just like Wally. He felt like such a big kid and he was so happy that his new friend was going to help him remember stuff. The light of the laptop screen made both of their faces flow in the darkness.

"You ready to remember?" Wally's emerald eyes were nearly yellow in the new light.

Dick grinned eagerly, hugging Wally's arms to fight off the butterflies. The ginger looked down at him for a moment longer, his smile softening before he turned to the computer screen and started to scroll down. None of the links sounded right.

"_The Curtain Falls for the Flying Graysons!" "Real Life Annie!" "Sole Survivor of the Grayson Incident!"_

All of the titles were about an orphan boy, some circus accident or a kid being adopted by some millionaire. Wally frowned. None of that could be right. The man in black had said that his parents were heroes too! He wouldn't lie, would he?

"What was the other name that big guy called you?" Wally nudged his friend, fighting to remember.

Dick pursed his lips, his dark blue eyes innocently staring up at the blanket that hid their heads. When it came to him, he giggled.

"Robin! Like da birdie!" he remembered.

Wally grinned.

"Good job little dude," he leaned over and tousled the soft black hair.

He slowly pecked at the keys, one by one, until the search bar said 'Robin'. He hit enter and the two eager kids waited eagerly for the search to be completed. Wally noticed that the hug on his arm tightened as the bar reached the end of its loading sequence. When the screen refreshed, they both were shown millions of pictures of some older kid.

"Who dat? Dat not me!" Dick frowned.

It certainly didn't look like him. This kid was probably 13 or 14 from the looks of it; his black hair was shorter; his muscles were well defined and obvious; his eyes were always hidden by this odd domino mask; he was surprisingly pale compared to his younger part who sat outside the screen. Wally scrolled down until he found a picture that caught his interest. He clicked it swiftly, enlarging it.

The picture was of this 'Robin' kid in costume, walking down this carpet next to another kid. This other kid was what had caught Wally's eyes. It was a tall kid, maybe 15 or 16. He had red hair, just like Wally, that was pushed back by these red goggles. He wore a strange suit, the upper half yellow and the lower half red. On his chest was the lightning bolt that had sparked the ginger's interest. And this kid had emerald eyes too. He was grinning widely at 'Robin', holding a hand out to gesture whatever it was they were talking about.

"That's me," he seemed sure of it, pointing at the ginger. "So that has to be you! I like you kid and this kid seems to like Robin…"

Dick frowned, still unsure. But he gave in, smiling.

"A'right. You pretty when you big," he told Wally, setting a weak hand to the underneath of his eyes, expecting to feel a mask.

The ginger smiled shyly before the words registered.

"Oh! So I'm not pretty now?" he teased.

Dick's eyes widened.

"N-no! You pretty!" he insisted, hiding his eyes on Wally's shoulder.

The ginger laughed, shutting his laptop and submerging the two in complete darkness. Dick shrieked at the light change, almost cutting off circulation in his friend's arm from fear. Wally tossed back the covers so they could see again. It was his turn to shriek when he recognized his Uncle Barry in the doorway.

"Hey sport, what'cha guys up to?" the older blonde asked casually.

"Nothing," Wally lied, cradling his head in his hands and offering an innocent grin.

Barry snickered, rolling his eyes.

"I'm sure… Want to head up to McDonalds?"

Wally was out of the bed, Dick over his shoulder in an instant. Barry laughed, gingerly pulling Dick's stomach out of the bony shoulder, touching him back down to the floor.

"Now come on; I don't want your aunt knowing I let you brats out of the house."

Dick automatically latched onto his friend's hand to make sure he wouldn't be left behind. Then the three boys all took off running for the garage.

**HA! TRICKED YOU ALL! It's only because it's Christmas though and no kid's smart enough to piece this stuff together. Technically, this isn't lovey-dovey because they're kids and kids don't know the different between love and friendship. And McDonalds solves everything. Review?**

**-F.J. **


	9. Chapter 9

**If Dick acts a little different than your siblings, it's because I'm basing him off of my little brother Jack, the only baby I've ever been around. He has mild autism, so his biological year clock is 2 years behind. When he was one, he wouldn't respond to his own name. He's seven now and he still can't go to the bathroom on the toilet -.- He can just barely talk in full sentences and he 'gabs' a lot. Always talking to himself… and he throws fits in Wal-Mart when we won't give him the stupid Mater (from Disney's Cars and Cars 2) pillow-pet… Love you Bubba~(:**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Before Barry could even properly park, the backdoor to his wife's minivan was thrown open and a small ginger and ebony leapt out, landing cleanly on the asphalt of the parking lot. He sighed angrily, already annoyed out of his mind from their non-stop screaming conversations about the strange men who sat on the side of the road and aliens and all of that other stuff that had been screamed while he had attempted to regain his vision. Shutting the car off, Barry hurried to push open the driver's door.

"Damnit Wally! Get back here!" he cried frustratedly as he saw that the 7 and 5 year old that he was supposed to be babysitting were already by the door of the fast food place, making faces at him.

Wally and Dick exchanged surprised glances at the word he used, giggling happily behind their hands.

"Um, um, um!" they taunted, grins stretching over their lips. "You said the 'd word'!"

Barry groaned, lightly face-palming before glancing both ways. When he was _positive _no one could see him, he practically flew across the parking lot, scooping the little boys up into his arms. Eyes of blue and green widened and impressed little gasps sounded, ultimately shutting them up for a few seconds. The older blonde basked in the silence while he could, pushing open the two doors with his shoulders. The second the heavenly scent of French fries and cheese slammed the two unsuspecting kids, they began to squirm antsily.

Barry sighed, touching their little shoes down to the red tiled floor. Their feet had already been spinning in the air so when they were let go, they took off running across the floor towards the kids' section in the back with the hamburger tables and the three videogame screens that sat in a triangle, side-to-side. He started to laugh at how eager they were, but in a second, his laugh was cut off by a wince.

The youngest among the two kids seemed to trip over the air, his arms spiraling as if for a second, he had remembered his other name and he was trying to fly. When he seemed to remember that the name was just that and he couldn't take off, his face smashed into the floor roughly and he just laid there.

"Oh my god…" Barry breathed, his eyes widening before he regained his voice, "Dick!"

Before he could even start to dash to the little kid's side, Wally was kneeling beside him, a gentle hand on his elbow to help him back to his feet. A little pool of blood, probably the size of Dick's miniature palm, was left out on the floor, probably all from his nose from the little crack that Barry had sworn he'd heard seconds ago. Seeing the blood, he forced himself to run a normal speed over to the counter where he snatched a napkin and mopped the blood from the floor.

"Is he alright?" "Oh my gosh!" "Oh no!" "Poor baby!" the crowd began to fret over the adorable little stranger.

When Wally had pulled Dick gently to his feet, he looked the little boy in the eyes to see if he was okay. The first thing he noticed, not counting the blood that he seen on the floor before the dark blue eyes had met his, were the tears that threatened to fall and how hard the ebony's chin trembled. Brotherly instinct took over the ginger and he swiftly picked up his new friend, calmly walking over to the kids section. He sat himself down on a little hamburger seat, setting Dick on his lap. Wally wrapped his arms warmly around the little boy, wiping away the blood from the pale little nose with his jacket sleeve.

"Don't cry," he cooed, petting the soft black hair lovingly. "It didn't hurt that bad, right? I mean, you're a big boy! Big boys don't cry for nothing!"

Dick gave a watery smile, blinking a tear down his cheek. He still trembled, but for whatever reason, it didn't hurt as bad anymore. It still stung, that was obvious, but it was much less. Wally grinned in relief, lightly touching his lips to the injured nose. When little Dick scrunched up his nose and his eyes, giggling lightly, he couldn't help but laugh too.

"See? All better," Wally sighed happily at the situation they had just avoided.

He carefully helped Dick back down to the ground, watching him carefully to make sure he wouldn't trip again. When he was sure that his friend was okay, he hopped off the chair himself and looked up at his uncle innocently.

"Can I get a cheeseburger? I'm all growed up!" he grinned at the face his uncle made for the baby-term.

Dick lightly tugged on the edge of Wally's jacket, shaking his head.

"_Grown _up," he corrected with his accent, poking his thumb between his lips distantly without letting go of Wally's jacket.

Wally rolled his eyes at the correction, folding his arms over his chest. Barry's eyes widened though. A five year old knowing better grammar? Bruce deserved a call…

"Walls- why don't you and Dick go and get your food? Da- er, Uncle Barry's gotta make a call," he had to shake off the urge to call himself 'Daddy'.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet and handed a 20 dollar bill to the eager ginger before pocketing the brown leather and slipping out his phone. Wally clutched the money tight in one hand, pulling Dick's hand off his jacket so he could walk. He couldn't take one step before a little hand grabbed his index and middle finger. With a sigh, he opened his hand and tugged the ebony after him towards the counter, ready to please his hungry tummy. Barry leaned himself up against the wall, dialing a familiar number before pressing the phone to his ear.

The Dark Knight picked up on the second ring, "Yeah?"

His voice was broken and more gruff than usual, causing a curious blonde eyebrow to raise itself. Barry brushed it off though, jumping to the matter.

"I think they're _slowly _starting to remember. Or at least your boy is. Wally said he was all 'growed up' and your little bird corrected him with 'grown up'. I'm pretty sure kids his age don't do corrections," he informed his friend excitedly, folding one arm over his chest and tucking it under the elbow of the arm that was holding his phone.

Bruce mood didn't seem to change, so Barry assumed that either the older ebony didn't take that as good news or that he was in costume around the others. He desperately hoped it was the second one because if it was the first one, he was missing something important.

"W… What are they doing now?" the tone was just a little lighter, but it was still grim.

Barry smiled, deciding that he was talking to Batman right now. It took him a moment to realize what he had been asked to check. He winced at the, "Well…?" that followed the silence, his eyes snapping up to find the boys.

"Oh- sorry, I got lost in thought," he apologized, his eyes scanning.

"I can't blame you. It must be unfamiliar territory to you," Batman smirked to himself on the other end of the line.

Barry stopped, his eyes narrowing and his mouth falling into a straight line.

"Wayne…" he started to threaten, but he couldn't hold off a laugh.

Something was definitely different on Batman's end, mostly because the Dark Knight wasn't one to kid or joke around, but it was a nice little change. He didn't have time to follow up with a smart threat or comeback though as his eyes fell on the boys over by the pop machine. Dick was sitting on Wally's shoulders, Wally's freckled hands holding his legs in place. In Dick's little hands was a large cup with the McDonalds ads printed along it. He had it pressed to the ice slot, giggling happily as the ice began to fill the cup noisily.

"They're acting like best friends… I mean, they're still little kids, but I can see little Robbie and KF in them right now, minus the friendly fighting. They're acting like brothers again," Barry noted, smiling softly at the sight.

Batman was silent for the longest time before he finally spoke up, "Barry… t-they're… How soon can you bring them up to the Cave?"

Barry didn't think twice on the request, watching the boys carefully.

"Well, we're at McDonalds now, but the nearest ZETA is just down the block," he dropped his voice to a whisper so no one else would overhear his conversation, "We can be up in maybe 15, depending on what the boys got and if they notice the Play Place in the back. Why?"

"I found something… but I'd rather not discuss it over the phone. It'd be easier if you were… _here_… with them," Batman spoke carefully, almost as if he were afraid to say the right words.

Dick and Wally raced back to the table, carrying a huge tray with them. On it were mountains of French fries, rivers up ketchup, a village made of cheeseburger houses and an overpopulation of chicken nuggets. To the side was the village's shrine to the mighty 'Amy Donavan' who had won the Monopoly Game that was hosted at participating McDonalds. The second the tray touched down, they started digging in. Barry grinned to himself.

"Why can't you say it over the phone? You know for a fact that our phone lines are safe and no one can hear me back here…"

Wally snatched a chicken nugget from Dick's hand, shoving it into his mouth. Dick's eyes widened at first in surprise before they narrowed angrily.

"_ISS MINE!_" he screamed angrily, shoving Wally back furiously.

The ginger simply grinned proudly before sticking out his tongue, a gob of chewed food mashed up on the tip. Dick frowned roughly, stealing the cheeseburger from Wally's hand and dragging his tongue all over it. Wally freaked out, yelling incoherent angry words that made Dick giggle in amusement.

Batman's voice snapped Barry from his daze, "_They're dying_."

**WOOOAAHHH! Cliffie? Maybe. I hope you liked this (: I think I know where I'm going with this, but I don't know why they're kids. Maybe it's just because they're freaking adorable. I don't really care though. I'm going to go try to update everything else. _Try_. Rawr. Review?**

**-F.J. **


	10. Chapter 10

**I love how only 3 reviews actually commented on the chapter while the rest of you called me names for the last line. I shouldn't have updated this. I really shouldn't have.  
><strong>**_When you've lost it all... and nothing lasts forever... I'm sorry I can't be perfect._**

_They're dying…  
><em>_Dying…  
><em>…

Never before had two words ever had so much impact. Never before had two words left a broken cellphone battery, a broken black cover, a broken cellphone with a cracked screen, an island of abandoned food, a spilt large cup of Mountain Dew and a red 2000 Ford Taurus left unattended in the parking lot of a McDonalds.

Never before had two words caused a member of the Justice League to nearly blow his cover as in a blind and hysteric panic, he picked up the two boys he was technically babysitting and ran them out the door of a heavily populated fast-food restaurant, ignoring their terrified screams as his shoes hatefully beat down on the roads he had to bolt across to find the nearest ZETA tube.

Never before had a little five year old, his hair black and windswept as it's nearly torn from his head by the speed he was traveling, been required to hug onto an unzipped jacket for dear life, screaming his terrified heart out. Never before had cold tears of pure fear run down from his dark blue eyes, wetting a perfectly good jacket, unheeded pleas for help stubbornly slipping past his little lips.

Never before had a seven year old, his freckles failing to hide fear-filled tears of his own, wrapped one arm tight around the sobbing child beside him and the other around his uncle's neck in a death grip, his red hair whipping around and attempting to blind their driver and crash them all into oncoming traffic. Never before had he desperately screamed his uncle's name, trying harder than he had ever before to save himself and his new friend from the inevitable death that he was sure they were all guaranteed.

But then again, nothing had really been normal for the past two days, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

XxXxX

When Batman heard the terrified sobs cut the peaceful laughter in the kitchen, he quickly threw open the door and rushed out to see what the matter was in a record speed. He never got to see the problem. Instead, the problem hit him head on, sending him and a littler body sliding across the wooden floors of the Cave, eventually stopping at the wall that separated the living room from the dorms.

Blinking his confused eyes, the Dark Knight looked down to see who it was that he was holding tight to. To his relief, it was the only person he'd ever feel comfortable holding: Dick. He almost smiled, hugging the sobbing child gently to the bat symbol on his chest, rising to his feet with ease. Then, remembering someone had tackled him and made his baby sob, he looked up with an expression of pure fury.

Barry was just getting to his feet somewhere near the back of the couch, pulling a head of orangish red hair up with him. Noting the child, Batman calmed down a little and decided not to teach the children anything they didn't need to learn yet. Apparently though, they knew how to squirm and they knew the concept of 'stranger danger'.

"P-Put me down!" Dick demanded, trying to break out of the cradle made out of Batman's arms, tears still falling from his eyes.

The split of an already broken heart temporarily sounded, but the suited man ignored his own pain and knelt down, letting his whole world practically waddle away from him, hiding behind an equally terrified carrot top. Only then, when he could breathe past the happiness that had come with the surprise affection, did he gesture for Barry, out of costume mind you, to follow him back to the lab with the two children trailing after him.

Neither cared to acknowledge the remaining four kids and their babysitter who stared on in confusion from the bar in the kitchen where there lunch of peanut butter and jelly, with the exception of Kaldur because he didn't want to eat anything red and gooey because it looked like blood. Even Black Canary was left speechless, her blonde hair tied up in a ponytail to keep it safe from the sharpies that Artemis and Megan had gotten a hold of.

She was safe, but Kaldur and Conner hadn't been spared from their wrath. Now, the Pringles man and a kitty cat joined them for lunch, neither of them seeming very cheerful or jolly despite the smiles drawn over their lips. No, they didn't seem very jolly at all.

XxXxX

"Explain to me why I had to run here through five miles of heavy traffic with two screaming kids over my shoulders," Barry demanded, slamming the door with an echous clang of the metal before he angrily turned back to face the 'greatest detective in the world' to test his title.

Hidden eyes widened at the thought of their little boy being abused like that, but now wasn't the time to worry about what they couldn't have. Batman voiced his thoughts with nothing more than a scowl.

_Robin would've understood that… He would've- no! No… Robin isn't here right now Bruce. Get used to that… _

He strode across the room to the computer, pulling up Artemis' blood test. Her older, futuristic face was in the left corner, her full name placed beside it in the regular backwards order names were always set in for databases: **Crock, Artemis** with the addition of a middle name in-between the two names.

"Artemis is the only _human _among them, and maybe she was infected with something else that isn't on record, but this is all I can understand from it all," Batman bought time as the screen loaded a microscope close up of her recently drawn blood.

Barry shook Wally off his arm and crossed the room to the screen, intently staring for something out of the ordinary in the sample. He saw absolutely nothing wrong with it. It wasn't too runny, too dark, too light, too thick, a wrong color; no, it looked like average and ordinary blood.

"What's the big idea?" Barry's eyes narrowed, his hands curled into antsy fists that trembled in the slightest. "Nothing's wrong with it!"

Batman didn't spare him any attention for even a second. Instead, he magnified the drop several thousand times until the individual cells could be viewed. He stepped back and folded his arms over his chest, looking back at Dick before Barry.

"Look again."

Barry looked again, not expecting to see a change. There was a change though. Actually, there were two changes. One on the screen and one on the bachelor of the room, but Barry didn't notice the change on Batman. He wasn't looking for one on him. His mind was on the blood.

"What the…?" the words ghosted over his lips, his eyes widening at his observation.

Batman took the shock as a confirmation that Barry had noticed the problem just like he had after a few moments of studying and comparing.

"I need to test the other boys just in case, but I have a feeling you see the exact same problem I do," Batman half-asked without actually asking because Batman knew everything and never needed to ask questions.

Barry nodded faintly, his eyes glued to the screen. He half expected to see something shift and jump out at him before Batman gave off one of those 'Robin smirks' that symbolized laughing as he said, "I was just teasing. Got you!" Nothing popped out though and any slight smirk stayed dormant on the hero's face.

"The white blood cell count…" he managed to get out before his confusion and bewilderment drowned out the rest of his words with mumbles.

"… is through the roof," Batman finished, closing out of the close-up. "With the aid of some magical factor, probably from someone in the Injustice League, their bodies are trying to fix what doesn't need to be fixed. Normally, this would've kept them incredibly healthy, but the magical addition to it is affecting their ages and memories."

The blonde forced himself to tear his eyes from the screen, looking back at Wally with worried eyes. The little seven year old was staring up at the screen, fear and worry written deep into his face.

"U-Uncle Barry… are… are we…" he glanced down at the little boy hugging his leg like a teddy bear, "gonna die?"

Barry opened his mouth, his words falling short, "I-…"

Batman stepped forward, nudging the tongue-tied civvies-clothed hero to shut him up. He knelt down, getting to where he was eye-level with the older of the two terrified boys. True, he'd much rather be looking at the one that belonged to him, but the little five year old wouldn't understand. His eyes locked onto the worried emerald ones and he touched a gloved hand to the frail shoulder.

"You won't die," he promised boldly, his face rid of any emotion. "Neither of you."

Wally averted his eyes, tousling the black hair that brushed his hip gently. He didn't seem to buy the words, more afraid than ever.

"I may look small, but I'm not stupid. I don't care if _I _die… what about little Dick though? He's so little… he won't get why he's seeing a tunnel… he w-won't know… t-to… run a-away," Wally choked out the last part, a tear threatening to fall.

"Don' run! Don' run!" the little ebony screamed, clinging to the ginger's leg with a death grip.

That only made Wally's chin tremble harder, pushing that one lone tear down his face, right onto the intentionally placed black-gloved thumb that had intercepted it. The freckle-faced boy reluctantly traced the glove back, shakily staring at Batman. The man had a different look to his face now. It was younger, more friendly, more comforting. It was enough to make him weakly smile.

"Don't worry Wally. I think I know a way to save you both. It might hurt a little at first though… but I need to draw your blood. Do you know what that means?" the gravelly voice had raised an octave to a younger and warmer voice.

Barry looked over in confusion, nearly jumping out of his skin as he _finally _noticed the change on Batman. The Dark Knight had… shrunk? He had lost a lot of muscle to say the least, but he still seemed tall and strong. The blonde rubbed his eyes weakly, assuming that he had gotten something into his eye as he had ran on the way and it had just now stirred. That had to explain it. H

"Doodle, doodle, doodle, DOT!" Dick sang in a soft voice, giggling lightly under his breath at the mention of drawing.

Batman shook his head, chuckling at the adorable tone.

"No drawing silly," he teased, playfully poking the little kid in his side, drawing a surprised laugh from littlest ebony.

Barry's mouth fell open in horror. This wasn't Batman. This _definitely_ wasn't Batman. He ran up and pulled the man back, looking at what he could see of the face. He was used to the face of someone in their early thirties, but before him now kneeled an early twenties face. Either Wally had earned a new superpower and fast or Batman had just been infected with the same things the kids had.

"Batman… your… f-face!" Barry managed to force his thoughts.

The Dark Knight, his happier face seeming more appropriate for a lighter title, shot him the kind of look you shoot the giggling best friends in the row in front of you at the movies, silently saying he'd explain later. As expected, Barry didn't get it. Robin was the only one who'd ever learnt… the only one who'd ever bothered to learn…

"Later," he had to rush out discretely, smiling back at the boys before he straightened up. "Now, let's go get your blood drawn."

Wally reached down and shooed Dick off his leg… or so he tried. He seemed to have attained a leech. With a sigh, he dragged himself after Batman, straining under the extra weight. He didn't have the heart to kick the little boy off anyway, so he could suffer. He wasn't sure why they were going to draw blood… there had been some up on the screen earlier! They knew what it looked like…

The second he saw the needle, he freaked. Freaked is an understatement, but I don't think 'flipped shit' is an appropriate term for this kind of story so we're going with it. Before his uncle even saw the metallic gleam, he had a ginger hiding in his stomach, whimpering something about 'scary things' and 'death by elephants' that didn't even make sense to the potheads who're too high to remember how to breathe. **[1]**

Dick stayed close though, staring in interest at the shiny object. It reflected in his eyes, as bright as the day itself, causing him to hopefully move forwards towards it. When he saw it was Batman holding it though, he hesitated. Batman's heart fell again and he set the needle down for a moment, getting onto his knees in front of the little toddler. Cautiously, he pulled off the cowl and looked at his ward with hopeful eyes.

His hair was just slightly longer and wasn't combed back like it always was. It was loose, messy and tangled, giving him a casual look. His dark brown eyes seemed lighter, if even just by a little. He didn't look like a Batman anymore. No, this was Bruce Wayne, a normal human with a normal life and a smile.

"Please Dick; try to remember," he begged, securing the tiny unmarred hands in his own.

Confused blue eyes seemed to search his face before Batman desperately pulled him close, hugging him to his chest with hopeless tears rapidly filling his eyes.

"Please…" he whispered, "I-It's… Bruce? You have to remember me…"

Little palms pushed up against his chest, reminding him that he needed to let go. To his surprise though, Dick didn't look angry, scared or upset in the slightest. He had a small smile over his lips in fact, his eyes sparkling.

"You're not _Bruce_," he said lightly, standing up on his tippy toes and pulling the cowl loosely back down over the face, hiding the stranger before he snuggled up close again, "You're daddy…"

Batman's eyes widened before he had to close them to hold back the human-like tears, wrapping his arms tightly around the little toddler in his arms. Barry's mouth hung open in horror.

"Batman! What the hell's going on?" he demanded to know, dashing over to the countertop and picking up the needle with a passion in his eyes.

The stranger behind the mask released his little ward, standing up weakly with an out-of-character smile. He cautiously approached Barry, aiming to get the needle back. When Barry noticed, he raised the needle defensively, showing that he was perfectly capable of stabbing if he needed to. Batman took the hint, throwing his hands up to show he was defenseless.

"I'm not sure what's going on. Earlier, I kept forgetting simple things like who I was, where I lived, who Dick was to me and that sort of stuff, not to mention the random age loss. I ran my own blood and I have the same symptoms as Artemis. I must've come in contact with something they all di-…" at that moment, Batman face-palmed for a long moment.

Barry stared on in half-irritance, half-confusion, unsure of what he should do.

"The box!" Batman tried to explain. "Earlier, the team got a box and I let them open it! I brought it in! Something had to be in that box…"

Barry and Batman both turned to look at Wally expectantly, seeing how little minded Dick was at the moment. The ginger was backed up in the corner, terrified still, an eyebrow raised.

"Does this mean I don't get stabbed?"

**[1] This is under the assumption that the higher you are, the more philosophical you get. **

**That felt awkward… Um… Yeah. I hope this was okay. Sorry for the long delay. A lot of people are pricks and my ego was bruised... and writer's block. Yes, Batman is infected. He was taken back a few years (he became a hero at 21 and on the show, he's 32 according to the official YJ site so he won't forget being Batman). I know, it's confusing. I really don't know where I'm going with this. Review?**

**-F.J. **


	11. Chapter 11

**I have the sudden urge to apologize to my dearest Wicked Wizard, the one and only in Oz. When I called French accents repulsing, I feel like I offended you… I have nothing against the people, or the accents for that matter, and I don't want you to be mute forever! I just don't like hearing the cheesy romantic French accents in movies when the guys with the berets and ascots and stereotypical get up try winning over American chicks. I despise those wannabe triangle bears and those little curly mustaches and the "Sacre Bleu!" stuff. It creeps me out is all. I have nothing against you! I'm sorry… **

"**I'll be Your Maiden in Shining Socks." *heart symbol***

**Disclaimer: Why do I keep writing these (disclaimers I mean)? I don't need them. I miss the days when I just wrote freely without these. But then again, back then I couldn't write… at all. XD**

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><p>So, did it mean that Wally didn't get stabbed? No, it did not, as assured the tears that filled both eyes of blue and green as the rummaged through the huge box of Band-Aids in the back corner of the room, trying to find the perfect one to cover the small incision on their veins. They could've just taken the normal tan Band-Aids, but that would be too easy. Wally wanted Transformers; Bumble Bee to be specific. Dick wanted Power Rangers, but only the white or red ranger because the other ones weren't pretty enough to be on his boo-boos.<p>

They would take nothing lower than Disney XD, with the exception of _Spongebob Squarepants _and _Phineas & Ferb. _Anything of lesser value would be greeted with the grandest of all hissy fits, complete with hate-filled "_you don't love me!_" fights and angry fists and feet hitting the ground until a point of pure exhaustion.

"So… what kind of box are we talking about here?" Barry asked in a surprisingly casual tone, "Pizza box… mail box… shoe box… cereal box… cardboard box… hobo box… shopping box… no-no box **[1]**…?"

The blonde expected the new Bruce to smile at the last one, but he didn't even get a glance his way. The older ebony was pacing back and forth, waiting for the blood to analyze, unconsciously adjusting his slightly oversized costume. He had his Batman face on, the same angry thinking face he always held even when no thinking was to be done.

"I don't remember," he said in a tone similar to the one that would be used to tell someone that their father just died in a fiery explosion that was their fault. "I… I know there was _a _box… but… b-but… It was a kind of big box… maybe it was white? Brown? I d-don't…"

He set his hands over the eyeholes on his mask, groaning in anger. He seemed pretty pissed at himself for his lack of memory, continuously eying the medical needles on the table beside him. Barry didn't really seem to care. He seemed kind of annoyed, but he wasn't mad.

"My… memory fades in and out. That's why Dick didn't recognize me first, but then he remembered me as his dad… He never called me his dad… even on the 'anniversary' of the day I adopted him, which he keeps careful track of, he still called me 'Bruce'. I always thought… he considered me as a… babysitter or something… But he… he called me daddy… Daddy! He… he actually… he loves me? He loves me! My baby loves me… My… boy… My baby boy…" the faintest of a smile crossed his face, merging with the tears.

That's when Barry started to get pissed off. He understood that Bruce was happy now, but his notice reminded Barry of the fact that his little 'gingerbread boy' only remembered him as an uncle, not a new father. When Bruce wouldn't shut up about it, his temper started to build. Eventually, he just snapped.

"BATMAN! Just- shut up! Please explain to me why my boy still thinks Mary and Rudolf are his parents! Tell me what the hell made you look like you just started college!" the blonde thundered, shaking lightly.

Wally's head snapped up at his parents' names, his eyebrows furrowed.

"B…but… they… they _are _my parents… r-right?" he stuttered out, gripping the edges of the clear tub tightly.

Barry's eyes widened at the frightened tone that slipped past the freckled face boy's lips, shaking on its way through the air. Its fragments dropped off, turning the air as thick as the finest soups that your grandparents have ever even attempted to mix together on a Sunday night spent together as a family.

"Wally, you… take Dick out there and round up the other kids. We need to talk to you all out on the couch," he commanded, trying not to look at his nephew.

He already regretted saying it, but unlike Superman, he couldn't just circle the globe and turn it back in time. He could always ask dear old Mr. Reporter Man to lose the glasses and do him a favor, just as easily as he could try backward circling the globe himself.

"Again…? You already talked to us. What else could you need? Besides, what about blood doodling? I was promised coloring!" the ginger testily folded his arms over his chest, scrunching his face up.

Barry robbed Batman of his facial expression, his eyes hardening in command. He set his pale hands to his hips, standing tall.

"_Take Dick out there and round up the other kids_," he repeated slowly through gritted teeth, hoping that he looked and acted similar in manner to his darker and more ordering partner.

Wally nearly jumped out of his skin at the near demonic tone, grabbing Dick by the wrist and practically dragging him out of the room. He completely ignored the screams and whines of protest that followed, revolving around the fact that he only had one Band-Aid and that he had seen a dinosaur one at the bottom that he wanted to put on his shoe. Only once he was gone did Bruce turn his eyes back to Barry.

"What was that snap for?" he asked worriedly, his eyebrows furrowed and his arms folded over his chest.

Barry heavily exhaled out his nose, rolling his eyes and taking a seat on the 'operating table' if you would. He turned and lay down, resting his head in his hands, letting his elbows hanging off the edge.

"Batman. Tell. Me. What's. Wrong. With. Them."

The urgency outweighed the anger, so Bruce shifted through his thoughts, putting the things he wanted to share up front and sweeping the others off to the side and under the rugs where they belonged. The ebony hopeful glanced over to the computer screen, but it was taking its sweet time.

'_Damn, for a super computer, this is some less than average loading…_' he thought to himself.

"Alright… I already told you what I know. _Something _got into their systems that have overpopulated with white blood cells. When this happens, regularly they get high fevers and pretty sick, but they all have normal temperatures. Megan seems to be the only one who's kept her powers; or the only one who remembers she has them. I was going to call in the other League members… but I… forgot… how…" that last part was barely even breathed from shame, but Barry heard.

The blonde could've smirked, seeing how rare it was that _Batman _of all people couldn't remember something, but he wasn't in a smug mood.

"What about the cures? How soon can you make them?" he demanded to know, turning his head to the side in his arms to watch the man pace about in front of him.

The cowl was adjusted and hands were rung before Bruce could manage an answer. He didn't sound very sure though.

"All I know is we're sick… I-I don't- no, I _won't_ know how to fix it until I'm sure of what's making us Benjamin Button. One cure could end up killing us or only worsen the sickness and then you'd have a floor full of bloody fetuses to take care of," somewhere along the line, Bruce found his inner Batman and straightened up.

He firmly adjusted everything before striding over to Barry and grabbing him by the wrist, tugging him off of the table.

"Come on Flash; we have to talk to these kids. They might be able to fill in the blanks."

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><p><strong>[1] Also called "no-no square", referring to your private parts. Also used in the song: "STOP- don't touch me there! That is- my no-no square!" which I loooooove~<strong>

**I know, not a cliffie. BE THANKFUL! Anyway, I know most of you don't review so to those that don't, I want to know your honest opinion: What's the appropriate age for "third base"? We have kids in my school (13 and younger!) who've already been there and farther! There have been abortions and preggo leaves! I find it ridiculous but none of my friends think so… Review?**

**-F.J. **


	12. Chapter 12

**I can't really update too much tomorrow. Definitely not Saturday. I have a competition then. I'm competing at 8:30 with WIDI, 10:30 with DD and 11:30 with Crime. I'm going to fail that last one unless I hardcore study… I'm pretty good on WIDI as long as Austin holds up his part, but he's really good so I'm confident. DD… if dad helps me study, we might have a chance. I don't know how much Josh knows… …Who am I kidding? We're _doomed_. But don't tell Mrs. Durham that… The others will do fine, I'm sure. **

**Disclaimer: … I… Hate… These… So… I… Eats… Them… Nom… Nom… Nom…**

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><p>Six pairs of eyes. Six pairs of innocent and wide amber, green, silver, two light blues and a dark blue eyes blinking expectantly up at the two adults. Four pairs of small hands resting on four pairs of small knees. The exceptions included the tiny pale hands resting over a tiny tummy while a head of black blocked the bruised knees and the freckles hands that were separated, one on the couch cushion and the other entwined deep in the soft hair to lessen the boredom.<p>

The man in the funny costume and the guy with yellow hair kept asking about a box. They wanted to know what was in the box. What box? What were they talking about? The kids all exchanged confused glances, ending with Dick and Wally on the left and Megan and Artemis on the right.

"Box?" Conner voiced first, hopefully looking from Megan to Kaldur to see if they had understood anything he hadn't.

They obviously hadn't from their shrugs. The man in the funny costume went on to explain this box, saying that it had made them all really little. He said he had brought it in earlier when all of the kids had been bigger. He said it had something in it that had messed everything up. Did they remember now?

The six pairs of eyes stayed as dim as ever, their faces dormant of any recognition. Why were these guys asking about boxes? If they needed one, why didn't they just stop at the store and leave all of the kids alone so they could go back to watching TV and coloring Hello Kitty the wrong color? But then- a faint light sparked.

"I… I think…" Megan opened her mouth, quickly shutting herself up and uncomfortably bunching up the edges of her skirt.

The blonde man looked her way, quickly demanding to know what she was going to say. He said it in a tone that made her shy away into Conner's shoulder, trembling in fear with the tears burning bright.

"I… remember… something…" she mumbled, clinging desperately to the little black shirt sleeve that brushed her cheeks in a soft, comforting motion.

Artemis leaned over with a weak smile, touching a hand to the Martian's shoulder in her own attempt to console her. Megan lifted her head and smiled back at the blonde, touching a delicate green tinted hand to the tan one for a moment before she found the strength she needed to speak. Brushing off the fear with a sniffle, she locked eyes with the blonde man.

"In the box… there were… there were pictures… lots and lots of pictures," she remembered, her voice shaking just in the slightest.

"P…ictures?" the man with the winged thing on his chest repeated, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Megan looked at the kids around her, hoping she wasn't the only one who remembered a little. To her relief, she saw the same sparks in their eyes. Well, all except little Dick, but the kid was too busy laughing at his shoes to notice. Since when did his shoes light up? Trippy~.

"Yeah… I remember… um…" Conner blanked for a moment, looking down at Megan for a moment, "a green chick… and some guy with yellow hair… kissing. Ew."

The others kind of nodded, trying to remember with their best efforts, their little faces scrunched up from the strain.

"I 'member a monster…" Dick sang, bringing his feet into the air and grabbing them, hitting them against his free fist to make them light up closer to his face. "It was all bumpy and bubbly and white! It was scary!"

He kept right on giggling though, far too amused by Spiderman to care about monsters at the moment. Wally had to hide a laugh, starting to get sucked in by the entertainment of the flashing red lights.

"I um-… it was me and this guy," the ginger distractedly poked Dick on the nose, his eyes glued to the shoes, "only in our big kid clothes."

Artemis mumbled something about a mustard bottle hitting a wall, smiling to herself about the mental image. Kaldur grinned up into space, envisioning the magical mermaid princess in his head that had been holding his hand. He didn't know her name, but gosh, she sure was pretty. Tulip? Was that it? No… but she deserved the name of the most beautiful flower in all the universe from the way she was portrayed in his mind.

The cat-man, seeing how his ears stuck up in that odd way, didn't get what they were saying. What did they mean by pictures? Once again, the six pairs of eyes looked around at each other. Even little Dick had put his feet back down on the arm of the couch and was looking around.

"Li… Like Conner's face?" he offered, grinning at the Pringles man design that marred the pale skin.

All of the other eyes turned on the poor ebony, even the ice blue eyes that rested inside the skull being stared at as they crossed stubbornly, attempting to see the outside to their skin.

"Drawing blood," Wally added, nodding at Dick's description. "They were… pictures… but not the camera kind."

The funny dressed man and the normal looking one looked at each other, eyebrows raised before they seemed to come to the same conclusion.

"Co… coloring pages?" the blonde offered, doubtful.

"Yeah!" the kids all chanted, their eyes lighting up and grins spreading across their faces like wildfire.

A bat. That's what the funny man was dressed as. Not a cat. Cats had tails and cute little muzzles. Bats had the funny wings and the weird ears. The _Bat_man had an eyebrow raised at them, still confused.

"Was there… anything else?" he asked slowly, studying every face slowly even though he only wanted to see one.

The faces scrunched up again, anger riddling itself among the lines as they fought to remember, desperately if you would, but they could find nothing.

"There… maybe there was something… but I cannot recall," Kaldur spoke, still against the contractions like normal.

At least that meant he remembered his odd speaking mannerisms. The Batman's theory was correct; unless the Atlantean language didn't carry contractions through translation in which case it was just something they wouldn't get.

"There had to be something else…" he mumbled to himself, setting a hand to the back of his neck in deep thought.

He cursed under his breath, thinking hard to himself. And then he remembered.

"Barry- the cameras."

The blonde shamefully face-palmed.

"Damnit," he sighed, "and in front of the kids! Let's just hope that when you fix them, they can't remember this."

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><p><strong>Quick written so of course it was pretty bad. But trust me. Next chapter will make up for it. If not, feel free to cuss me out and flashmoon me. I'm bi so I'd probably like it ;) JUST KIDDING. Keep your junk inside your pants. No one wants it. And to Neena Payne- you're AMAZING, I LOVE YOU, see you tomorrow. I know you read D-Grayman so there's a chance you might read this? No, of course not, because this is American as far as I'm concerned. So, no update until... uh... Saturday night/Sunday if even that. Please note that while I'm gone, I'm probably not thinking of any of you. I'll be too busy tripping balls. And not the good kind. Review?**

**-F.J. I I I**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry it's been a while. So, the update stuff on my life:**

**I'm over Sam. Neena and I started RPing and we're Deviant Art friends, hardcore. Bailey got texting back. On Saturday, I got a first and second place medal and we placed third (over all) out of like, 26 schools. Chris and I have happily been together for 10 months. Bri and Ozzy broke up. Ozzy likes Abby again. Abby still loves Noah. Bailey got contacts. Bailey stapled her pinky today. Brock looks like Harry Potter. Nylorea and Ashlyn got in a bitch fight because Ashlyn broke Bailey and Mason up from a year and a half long relationship. I'm proposing to Bailey next to week as a joke thing. Abby and Rebecca are the only straight chicks in our group. I'm Whitney's, Bailey's, Neena's and Jesse's ho. I still hate Cheyenne. **

**So there you go. Now you're kind of caught up. Now, go look up YourDelusions on Deviantart and cruise through her stuff. She's one of my closest friends (she probably hates me with my luck, but I be loving her) and she's pretty good. Not Humon good but still pretty good. Thank you all, and go vote on my poll. NOW. I need ya too, badly. **

Batman led the kids in a fashion similar to how a family of ducks would move, he being the mother duck and the civvies-clothed heroes being his adorable little ducklings. Not a single quack escaped their beaks as they waddled after him, their eyes wide and their wings entangled with the wings of another to make sure no one got lost. In this manner, they were more like ants as they marched two by two, but Dick had no intention to stop and tie his shoe. He had strap shoes, the kind that you just press to the Velcro and they stick. No, he had solved the littlest ant's problem long ago.

The now younger hero, leading his 'babies' down the hall, secretly wanted to view the tape alone seeing that he worked best like that, but he fell ill to their puppy dog eyes. The sadness in the twinkling got him drunk, intoxicating his heart into a state of pure inebriation that ended up poisoning his poor brain and soon enough, his immunity to adorable was worn down and he couldn't say no. He just wanted to hug them all and poke them and their pudgy little bellies, tickling them until they're literally crying for mercy.

Barry walked alongside him, gently prodding him along when he'd stop in confusion every once in a while, just like the loving spouse to someone suffering from Alzheimer's **[1]**. Batman was thankful, but it was embarrassing. He was becoming helpless, as if he was falling down the deepest of chasms, without a parachute to speak of. Even if someone were to come out and catch him, the air had already done enough damage on his body and he wouldn't make it much longer.

"Any idea of what we're going to see?" Barry asked casually in an attempt to make conversation.

Batman frowned calmly, looking over the kids lightly before he answered. He had looked for bites, skin pigmentations, irregular pupil sizes and things of that sort that would explain something they could expect to see, but there was nothing. The kids were the cleanest and purest row of glasses, the light shining through them to prove how clean and innocent they truly were.

"None in the slightest," he said under his breath, seeing that he had all eyes on him.

He didn't want to scare the kids, letting them know how clueless he truly was. No, no child deserved to suffer the kind of fear that came with wondering if they'd live to see snow hit the ground next Christmas or even to see the sun shining in through their curtain covered windows the next morning. Nothing was worse than that, other than maybe not seeing the magical 'light' when you die or waking up to a flesh-rotted zombie standing over you, your face in his mouth.

"Of course I know!" he declared bravely for them to hear. "I'm an adult after all. How dare you question my knowledge!"

The kids all looked up at him with wide and respectable eyes, all except the telepath among them, but the feminine hand on her arm kept her smiling nonetheless. Why alert the others? All she'd end up doing is getting a brain ache from their negative rays. In case you didn't know, brain aches are worse than headaches; by a _lot_.

"Lea'e my da'y alone!" Dick cried emptily, screwing his eyes up and pouting heavily. "He sma't…." **[2]**

His voice was losing syllables and letters, his vocabulary decreasing incredibly. Wally was the only one paying attention to it and although he wasn't quite sure what was going on, he grew suspicious. His green eyes looked down at the kid, surveying the shorty as he weakly wobbled in an attempt to keep up. Something was different. Did he shrink? Did his hair change colors? The ginger frowned, kneeling to the ground and picking Dick up, one arm resting under the kid as a chair, wrapping his other arm around the small of his back.

"Hey little buddy, you okay?" he asked gently, looking the little boy in the eyes.

Blue eyes met his, confused at first before they lit up and two pudgy hands rose up, lightly running across the area around emerald eyes.

"I tickle your eyes!" Dick explained, giggling excitedly.

Wally screwed up his eyes, squirming away from the touch in pain. When the pudgy finger kept running over his eyes uncomfortably, he backed up and brought his teeth down lightly on the nearest fingers he could find. He didn't bite hard enough to leave a dent, but it was enough to stop Dick and make him hang his head in defeat, apologizing in a huff under his breath. XxXxX

Batman sat down in the chair, the worry lines in his face starting to reemerge from under his cowl. He typed fast, racking his brain for the write codes to pull up the security footage. When he did, he pulled it full screen, backing out of the way so the kids could see. Almost instantly, they all piled into the chair. Kaldur and Conner sat first, seeing they were oldest with the biggest laps. Megan sat on Conner's lap, Artemis on Kaldur's. Wally sat between the two girls, resting his arms around their shoulders with a smirk, baby Dick curled up on his lap.

Barry hid a smile beneath his hands, pulling out his phone to take a picture. Batman scowled lightly, nudging the blonde in his side.

"Phone companies can check your pictures and all of these kids are maskless," Batman reminded his friend, "I don't want the world to know who they are. My kid goes to school, in case you forgot! I don't want the girls mobbing him-!"

Barry held his smile, shaking his head and snapping a picture with pride.

"I'm older than you now Bats, so I think I can boss you around for once. Besides, these are kids. The heroes are _teens_. Now, go on back to the kitchen and get me a coffee?"

If looks could kill, Barry would be in the bottom of a pit trap, bamboo growing up through his chest along with the spikes from the six months of suffering he had gone through, blood slowly slipping past his lips, his eyes milky and his body starting to rot, attracting the buzzards.

"Like Hell. Make it yourself Allen," the ebony scowled, folding his arms over his chest and turning his eyes to his screen.

The oldest in the room simply sighed.

"At least I tried," he mumbled.

_All six kids were gathered around a brown box, frowning down on it. _

"_What about you, Boy Wonderful?_ _Do you have anything in your belt that can make sure we won't be opening a bomb or something?"_ _Wally teased, looking down at his crippled friend with a teasing smile. _

_He seemed to gain delight at the scowl that crossed his sunglasses-wearing friend's face, the angry blush being the sprinkles and chocolate sauce to his ice-cream cone. Robin folded his arms over his chest, only the edges of his eyebrows visible above the black glass that shielded his eyes from the world. The others took side with Wally by smiling, but they weren't being bullies. No, they were just happy with life for once because there was nothing to frown about right now. _

"_First off, don't call me Boy Wonderful. I'm ROBIN! Second, Batman wouldn't give us anything that could harm us in any way-"_

Batman's lips fell open in hurt and he turned his head away in shame, growling at himself. This was his fault. This was… it was his fault his baby was dying… _his _fault he was losing the only thing he had let himself love.

"_Third, my arms are bandaged up for a reason. I'm not supposed to move them around a lot, so even if I did have some radiation detective device in one of the pouches, I couldn't get it for you," the little ebony had a cocky tone to his voice, seeming to know it all even though he obviously couldn't. _

_The look that crossed the ginger's voice silently said, 'I can get it for you' in a dirty way, but not an action was performed. Instead of making things awkward, green eyes looked over the bandages questionably. The white tape was tight and circled up the pale boy's forearms, hiding the cuts and scars that supposedly hid behind them. Wally reached a hand out and skimmed his fingers over the bandage. Robin recoiled almost instantly, drawing his arm back in pain. _

"_They seemed to work just fine when you were trying to beat me down," Wally pointed out, folding his arms over his chest and smirking playfully._

_Robin's eyes narrowed beneath the black glass, unnoticeable on the cameras but it could be felt. All other eyes were on the two of them. The ebony was delicately clutching his arm to his chest, frowning sourly. _

"_I probably jacked them up a bit more, no thanks to you," he angrily backed away from his friend, winding some of the excess bandage around his palm and curling his fingers around it. _

_Wally's expression softened and he tenderly slipped an arm around the ebony's shoulders _which immediately drew a hard frown from Batman's lips.

"Lighten up," Barry smiled sweetly at the friendship, almost considering running off to get some popcorn.

The Dark Knight couldn't help it though. Robin _was _hurt and Kid Flash really could have hurt him worse! Or maybe not. Overdramaticism wasn't quite crossed off the list of possibilities, if you get what I'm hinting at there.

_The ginger whispered something into Robin's ear, bringing a shy smile to the ebony's lips, making his head dip down in the opposite way to avert his gaze loudly. Then Wally slipped away, dropping his arm and turning to face Artemis. _

"_What about you blondie? You got anything that could help us?"_

_He gave her a devilishly flirtatious grin, raising an eyebrow playfully. The slightest tint of a bothered blush brushed her tan skin, but she brushed it off with an angry glare, the kind she always had reserved for him. Instead of replying, she reached over her shoulder and like magic, an arrow surfaced with her. The tip was sharpened and pointed, but the color was dull and it didn't look too threatening. Tossing her hair back out of habit, she brought the tip down and slit the box down the tape, frowning in thought._

_Only once a thin line was across the tape did everyone lean in curiously, grins wide on their lips. Artemis looked around at them, not fond of being crowded, but she nonetheless tugged the box open. _

_Almost instantly, a cloud of white smoke exploded out of the box, splattering everyone in its substance; even Dick who had to stand on his tippy toes to see over Wally's shoulder. No one moved. The powder was almost like ice it seemed, freezing each of the teens until their faces were frozen with wide curious eyes and slightly agape lips, opening in curiosity. _

_Then the box fully opened, the two flaps sliding open so this… _thing _could walk out. It wasn't a spider, seeing that its head had a moving camera lens, but it had eight legs that stretched out long and far, allowing it to walk around. It crawled eerily out of the box, stopping on the tabletop and looking around curiously, the lens widening and shrinking to survey the room. _

_When sure it was alone beside the six statues in front of it, it walked down the line and sprayed each teen in the face with this clear liquid that dripped down their face like water. Then it started beeping frantically, scattering away and crawling out of camera range, disappearing into the corners of the Cave. Only then did the teens react. _

_Conner quickly drained of all color, his skin becoming a literal snow-like white color before he just dropped to the ground. His eyes opened wide, his pupils swelling to fill his eyes and staying like that, his body limp. _

_Megan's body twisted and contorted until some awful and monstrous demon stood there in her place, its skin matching Superboy's in a second. The skin rose in hideous bubbles and bridges, marring the skin. All previous beauty was replaced with the ugliness of movie worthy aliens, the kind that leave the weak hearted hunched over a trashcan, losing tomorrow's lunch. Its eyes were red and angry before it collapsed, making all of the other bodies jump a foot in the air at the thud that sounded. _

_The tattoos that lined Kaldur's biceps quickly began to flash an unimaginable bright color, almost like strobe, shining through his jacket. The lights grew to such a speed that an epileptic would be out before they even entered the room. His strobing arms and his body hit the ground roughly, his body convulsing only once before he lay still. _

_Blood slowly began to slip past Artemis' lips, dying her lips a fresh scarlet color, the droplets falling until they became a steady stream, staining her clothes with a dark stripe. When the blood was too much, she crumpled into a heap, trembling as if she was housing a little earthquake inside of her. _

_Wally just dropped to the ground where the worst of his damage occurred. His body started trembling at an inhumane speed, making him vibrate himself across the floor, frozen with the same curious look on his face that was blurred by his face motion. _

_Dick let out a moan that came from the base of his throat before he hit the ground hard. His body arched, his head digging into the carpet before his body started spasming. His eyes were rolled up into his head, easily seen because his shades were long gone. His leg started trembling like mad and his left arm curled around his stomach. Fearful cries slipped past his lips as the shaking got worse. His body shook side to side, jerking back and forth in a painful motion until he just blacked out, his body falling limp_.

Batman stopped the tape with wide eyes.

"What. The. Hell?"

The only difference between my words and his were he didn't use 'Hell'. No, his word started two letters earlier in the alphabet and was much more appropriate to this situation because not only could he not explain any of what just happened, he was now aware that there was a robot creature capable of paralyzing and disarming six trained heroes in a second living somewhere in the Cave with them; one with a camera that now had all of their naked faces recorded.

**[1] RIP "Grandma", the woman who lived next door to my Granny. She suffered Alzheimer's and almost shot her husband of sixty years because she didn't recognize him. She actually called the cops on him… It was heartbreaking. **

**[2] "Lee my dah-ee alone. He smah-t." "Leave my daddy alone. He's smart." Translated. There ya go. **

**Dude. I'm 13 and I'm stuck in 8th grade. HOW THE HELL IS DICK A FRESHMAN? I know how he could be in 7th grade, pulling a Frank Hardy or a Spencer Lutjen and getting some awful disease for a year, but… Anyway, review? I worked hard on this! This is almost seven pages! Sorry, I'm a review whore, but I whore with love. **

**-F.J. **


	14. Chapter 14

**They had better include Two-Face in Young Justice. I'm going through the biggest Two-Face phase right now and I _need _to write about him~… So this chapter is dedicated to my dearest Miss Whalen, my English teacher who got me the book on Two-Face. I am now happy, content and wishing I could have two people give me a make-over at the same time so I'd have two different 'faces' if you would. **

"I'm a good boy!"  
>"<em><strong>Good boys don't do bad things."<br>**_"I try to hide the bad!"  
>"<em><strong>Bad boys don't do good things."<br>**_"We've made our choice."  
>"<em>No choice."<em>

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><p>Tiny metallic legs ghosted across the linoleum floor, not a sound uttered as each needle-like edge struck the ground in silent pricks, propelling it much faster than something its size should've been able to move. The camera lens fixed to its head spun fast, adjusting, zooming and focusing as it made quick work to avoid the frantic feet of Batman and the older blonde man.<p>

It watched in pure delight as the men quickly locked every available exit they knew of, thinking that locking the kids in the room would protect them from something this high-tech. Had they not seen the spasms and the blood? Just one squirt and this little robot could take the room out if it needed. That wasn't its command though, so instead it just kept its video camera rolling, moving fast to stay unnoticed in the shadows.

Dick struggled against the arms Wally had around his stomach, trying to escape the hold the ginger had on him. He gave off a warning whine, twisting his torso this way and that, shaking his arms and feet like mad. He was giving his friend a chance to avoid a tantrum, a chance that the emerald boy would take if he respected his life.

"Waaaaalllyyyy~" the little boy dragged the name out pathetically, bucking back and forth impatiently, "I gotta… show… books! Buttons! I help!"

The second youngest stubbornly held on, smirking to himself as he rested back onto the girls beneath him.

"Le' him go, meanie!" Megan stuck out her tongue angrily, narrowing her eyes at the jerk who was sitting on her.

"Don't be a jerk!" Artemis added, lightly punching the freckle faced boy in her own warning shot.

Wally just kept smirking a devilish smile, mischievousness running deep into his expression. Dick noticed and he trembled in light anger. Wally wasn't going to put him down willingly? Fine. He would resort to Plan B.

"_PUT. ME. DOOOOOWWNNN!_" Dick howled, flailing his arms and legs drastically, letting his high pitched wail cut the air.

He forced tears to his innocent blue eyes, screaming at the top of his lungs and digging the heels to his light-up shoes as hard as he could into the nearest shins he could find. His little fists hit anything that came in their path, no exact target registered into his tiny mind. When Wally simply bit into his own lip, tightening his hold, Conner and Kaldur both reached up and shoved the redhead off of the 'mountain', taking the youngest among them with him.

Out of unconscious habit, Wally turned so his back hit the floor instead of Dick's face taking the fall. Four feet wasn't far to someone of our height, but for kids their size, it was pretty dangerous and for whatever reason, Wally was well aware of that. Even if he hadn't known before his back hit the floor, he definitely knew now, paralyzed by the undeniable throb that pulsated through his frame. He let out a weak moan of pain, his arms lazily falling to his side as he tried to find his breath again.

Dick quickly took that chance to escape from the vise-grip that had before immobilized him, waddling across the linoleum, every step causing his shoes to light up in a clap of red. He didn't stop waddling until he was hopelessly staring up at the keyboard above his head, the one that ran the security camera. He groaned helplessly, seeming to realize that his small stature didn't give him good odds for once. He _needed _to get up there! He had to show Batman!

His head swiveled, looking for things he could use as a step ladder or something similar in form. There were so many things he _could_ have used, but it all looked so heavy and tall, so almost everything was out of the question. Where was his belt? He set a hand to his shirt, wincing as he realized his jacket was gone. What was going on? Where was his utility belt? Why was he so short?

"Batman! I can't find my utility belt! I need my grappling hook!" he cried desperately, his blue eyes burning with fear as he looked up at his mentor.

The hero stopped cold at the professionally intelligent yet higher pitched voice, turning fast enough for his cape to billow in a self-made breeze. His eyeholes were wide with surprise, the slightest trace of hope lining his open lips.

"D… Dick?" he asked slowly, raising an eyebrow.

Dick rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest and shifting his weight to his other foot.

"I need to reach the keyboard. Can I use your grappling hook?" he asked in a huff, irritance lining his voice clear as the finest of crystals.

Batman hesitated, shocked to hear grammatically correct sentences spill past the little pink lips, but when he saw how serious the five year old was, he rushed over and picked the ebony up. Dick tensed like mad at the contact, his cheeks shooting straight to red, skipping over the pink faze, but he did his best to shrug it off as he finally became level with the keys. He leaned over, trying to shift his weight to the edge of the board that held the keys so he wasn't really sitting in his 'father's arms.

He struggled to reach the necessary keys, seeing that his arms were now short and his fingers stubby, but he took it slow and pecked at the keys, occasionally peeking up at the screen to make sure it was following his every command. Nothing was worse than a disobedient computer, especially when you're three feet tall and can barely hold a pencil.

"What are you doing?" Batman demanded to know, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion behind the cowl.

Dick didn't answer, flipping his black hair from his eyes. His frown was hard, his eyes even harder with pure determination. While he typed away, Wally finally climbed to his feet, grumbling in pain.

"Meanie faces!" he stuck his tongue out at the pile of kids that still occupied the chair he had been kicked out of, hurt still clear in his face.

The echoed him, tongues of pink poking through smirking lips before innocent laughter spilled past those teasing laughs, making Wally's face scrunch up in anger.

"_Diiiiiicck!_" he whined, obviously upset.

Tears started to well in his emerald eyes, his arms folded over his chest and his feet ready to start stomping. The little ebony stopped typing as his real name was spoken, suddenly becoming paralyzed in place from the worst kind of fear.

"B-Batman, I swear, I d-didn't tell him!" Dick cried in fear, his eyes wide as he peeked back at his mentor.

Batman's eyes widened before they narrowed again in confusion. It took him a second to figure out what the blue eyed babe was getting all worked out, but Batman blamed his slow reaction time to the virus that was slowly eating away at his age tract.

"I-… it's okay," he smiled lightly, letting his facial expression work its magic into Dick's brain where it was broken into a deep and lengthy message that made him smile happily.

The blushing ebony turned his attention back to pecking at the keys, the camera view starting to zoom in on the box after the odd spider thing hopped out, clearing the image every time it enlarged.

"I love you too… 'dad'…" he said quietly, hiding his smile by never turning his head back.

He could feel Batman's smile without even having to look, making him grin excitedly. Then he remembered his ginger friend down at his feet, pouting sadly, his feelings bruised. When he turned his head down, his eyes lost the determined darkness, quickly lightening back into an oblivious shine. He giggled in amusement, clapping his hands.

"I so high! Look-it!" he squealed from delight.

Batman's face fell as the tone rose. He lost his baby… again… Robin died in his arms. All that was left was Richard John Grayson, the boy with acrobat parents. The Dark Knight became even darker, kneeling down and setting free the shell of the boy he had give his heart to, straightening up and shaking himself free of all of the broken shards building up in his chest. It hurt, but it would only get worse until he found a cure. He turned his eyes to the screen, the white growing as he saw the books in yellow boxes hiding in the cardboard box where the spider thing had been.

He furrowed his eyebrows, staring hard at the boxes. The kids had mentioned seeing books. No, they had mentioned using coloring books. Those books had some significance, but what was it? Frowning hard, he attempted to finish what Dick had started, already starting to plan the make-up of his will.

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><p><strong>Yeah… I have an idea on how to temporarily to save them but… ideas and suggestions are welcome! Review?<strong>

**-F.J. **


	15. Chapter 15

**I've had this idea ever since I made up the overpopulation of white blood cells story, but I wanted to put it off because it's pretty stupid. It'll just buy me some time though, and break my 200 review mark. I figured with the lack of Batman and Robin affection in the whole series, with the exception of Downtime, you'd all want some more. That's not enough though. Alfred needs a role in this story too. He needs a big role. Vive la Butlers!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, besides my username.**

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><p>Bruce sat in the driver's seat of the Batmobile, his cowl along the nape of his neck, his gloves draped over his thighs, his hands ten-two on the steering wheel. The advanced-technological vehicle stayed neutral on the shoulder of the road, parked at the base of Mount Justice. The mountain was now on lockdown, seeing that there was a robotic creature inside that had a camera strapped to its head that had the ability to knock out and possibly poison six heroes at once.<p>

The black haired man _knew _that he should drive him and his ward home and continue working on finding a cure for the unknown toxins, but for whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to start the car. Beside him in the passenger seat rested a small and bruised frame with long black hair and long eyelashes, soft snores falling from his open lips. Bruce knew it was Dick Grayson, the boy he had agreed to ward nearly 5 years ago, but he felt like he was looking at a stranger and he didn't like it.

"Dick…" he sighed, hitting the steering wheel roughly with the edge of his palm, a sharp clap sounding as flesh hit leather.

The five year old twitched in his sleep at the noise, his left ear meeting his left shoulder with a light gasp, but he became a breathing statue again in a matter of seconds, his snores now just hard breaths. He looked so innocent and carefree, two mildly similar words that he never before would've used to describe the ebony that slept down the hall from him. That soft smile and the colorful cheeks, the hands that weren't balled into fists and the unfurrowed eyebrows just weren't the boy he was used to.

It wasn't Robin sitting beside him anymore. This was the son of the Flying Graysons, the baby to two loving, living parents. This was the son that could easily drop the top of the o to his title so he could replace the large star up in the heavens purely with the shine that radiated from inside of him. Bruce felt as if he wasn't worthy enough to bring this little golden ray home with him, let alone to the home it would soon remember that it lived in without real parents.

Gritting his teeth, he reached into the glove compartment in front of the stranger in the passenger's seat and pulled out his cellphone, dialing a number he had drilled into his heart, one that he'd never forget. 7 numbers and a call button pressed, he had his phone to his ear, counting the rings slowly.

_One… two… three… come on Alfred… four… fi-_ he stopped thinking when a voice picked up on the other line.

"H-Hello?" Alfred picked up, coughing the embarrassment out of his voice, "Master Bruce, my dearest apologies. I was in the other room tidying up. Is something wrong?"

Bruce smiled painfully, blinking softly as he looked down at Dick beside him. His heart began to feel sore, but he threw some ice at it and put on his Batman Face.

"Yes," he said simply, not planning to elaborate quite yet, "I'd rather not discuss it over the phone though, just in case someone's listening in. I'm… I'm bringing Dick home. I recommend you ready his bed, and make some tea. You're- w… _We're _going to need it."

There was a confused silence on Alfred's half, but Bruce could feel the gray haired man nod curtly, pursing his lips in thought.

"Is… Is Master Richard alright? Did something happen?" concern held tight to the butler's voice, coating it like the peanut butter and jelly had done to the sandwiches that now lay abandoned on the kitchen table in the inaccessible headquarters in the mountain behind Bruce. "Are _you_ alright? Oh Bruce, you know how I hate not being told of this stuff!"

Bruce's smile gained a little strength as the man in his ear continued to ramble on, giving him that extra edge he needed to turn the keys, letting the engine to the Batmobile start up and vibrate through the doors, making the youngest in the car twitch again.

"Calm down Alfred. Dick is fine," he told half of the truth, resisting the urge to add 'for now' under his breath. "Just fix his bed. I have a feeling he's going to need to rest for a while He's just… sick."

Bruce set his phone down for a minute, pulling up his cowl just in case anyone was to look through the window and see him before he pressed his foot to the accelerator and picked up the phone. He put it to his ear only to find Alfred waist deep in another fearful rant.

"… medicine? I'll get started on a big pot of soup and set the kettle on! I'll have to run to the store though, now won't I? We finished off the chicken noodle last week when you were feeling a little under the weather and I kept telling myself to go to the store to get more, but I never did! Oh! Why didn't I?"

Bruce grinned lightly, his deep-voiced chuckles cutting the line and stopping Alfred mid-fret. The chuckles nearly became something more, something he hadn't experienced in a while: laughter. He stopped himself though, swallowing the happiness and tossing it aside by pressing harder to the accelerator.

"That won't be necessary Alfred. I guarantee Dick won't want any soup right now. If anything… ah…" Bruce paused, risking a glance over at his baby, fighting to remember what it was that toddlers liked to eat.

Alfred took the silence as a bad sign, immediately beginning to worry again.

"Something did happen! _Bruce Anthony Wayne! _**[1]**You're going to tell me what happened to our boy or I swear-," the father figure that had long ago fallen dormant inside of the older man sprang to life, riding out his voice like the heavy wind of a hurricane, not falling short until it had to.

Bruce smirked gently, rolling his eyes.

"_Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth_," he mocked, blaming the toxins coursing through his blood for the sudden cocky feeling he had, "You'll just have to wait until I get home. It won't make a tad bit of sense unless you see it yourself. Just go in the kitchen, put the kettle on and wait for me. I can't 'take the portal', if you understand what I'm getting at, home right now."

He heard Alfred grumble angrily on the other end, but he heard the steady footsteps that showed his victory.

"And why is that?" Alfred demanded to know, the smile tugging at his lips undeniably sensed through his voice.

Bruce set his phone to speaker, securing it on his dashboard as he remembered how dangerous it was driving while on the phone. Regularly, he would've accepted the danger with open arms, but he couldn't risk it with his baby beside him asleep. He couldn't lose Dick. One of the unofficial Bat Rules was "Dick comes first" or "Dick's well-being exceeds all other rules". He had never taken the time to write them all down, but he had the gist of each one memorized, as did Robin with his normal mind.

"_Because_… I had a conference up in Star City with one of our main buyers so I took the _you-know-what _up there in the civilian disguise. It'd be a little odd to see a billionaire step out of anything other than a car, right?" Bruce spoke in code, remembering that his phone had the high possibility of being bugged.

The other land was mastered by a sigh before Alfred just gave up on getting an answer. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, seeing that it was technically Batman he was speaking to, but he was kind of hopeful for a minute that he'd be able to just sit and talk to the man he considered his son.

"I guess that's all I'm getting then? Hmm… Then I'll see you two when you return. I'll fix his bed and put on a pot of tea. What sounds good for dinner?"

It was at that time that Dick chose to open his innocent blue eyes, a sleepy smile stretching over his lips.

"Pi'za!" he giggled excitedly, his eyes half open. "Moun'ains of pi'za! A-An' French fries!"

The line went ceiling and Bruce's eyes widened. He cursed under his breath, reaching a hand over and lightly running the unexposed fingers through the black hair.

"Go back to sleep Dick," he whispered, hoping Alfred couldn't hear. "We have a long car ride ahead of us."

Dick's face scrunched up and he stuck his bottom lip out, folding his arms over his chest.

"I don' wanna sleep!" he whined, kicking his legs in frustration. "I wan' pi'za!"

Bruce tensed up, unconsciously catching his breath and forgetting to throw it back. He didn't let it go from his glove until Alfred's voice cut the car's air.

"Bruce, who… who was that?"

The older ebony hesitated, groaning under his breath.

"I uh-… um… see you when we get home!" he reached over to hit the 'end call' button.

Alfred used his Old Man Senses, detecting the boy he had been babysitting for too many years to count's intentions, working fast.

"Don't you even _think _of ending the call on me, Wayne! You're going to tell me who I just heard and _then _you can go. Got it?"

Bruce closed one eye, drawing his hand back slowly and practically pushing his foot to the floor of the car, dodging traffic with amazing skill.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he chuckled nervously under his breath.

"Fine then. I won't ask _you_. Little boy, who are you?" Alfred thought fast, catching Bruce off guard.

He couldn't help but smile anyway. Looks like the old man still had a spark of fight in him. If only he was younger. They could use someone like him out in the field. Dick smiled widely, looking up at the phone with wide eyes.

"Is that you, God?" he asked hopefully, batting his long eyelashes, "Don't you 'member me? Iss Dick!"

Alfred stopped awing at the last part to, as Bruce imagined, gasp in surprise, the car silent again.

"A… Alright Bruce, you were right. I don't believe you… See you in a few hours."

Bruce took the hint and leaned over, ending the call with a broken sigh. He eased on the brake for a moment, taking a few deep breaths stay calm.

"I guess things _haven't _changed," he decided, looking down at Dick for the briefest of seconds to study the innocently happy features, "You _still _don't know when to shut up."

Dick laughed, mostly because of how the older man in the car said it, his cheeks bright and alive with pure happiness.

"BLA BLAH!" he screamed, giggling happily as he kept repeating it. "LA LAAH!"

Bruce rolled his eyes, still smiling.

"I liked you better when you were asleep," he teased.

Dick's eyes lit up and he curled up in the seat, loudly snoring in the fakest way possible, squinting his eyes so he could still look at the driver. Bruce turned his eyes to the road, letting off the intense speeds and internally praying that the vibrations of the road would really put the kid back to sleep until they got home.

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><p><strong>[1] I checked a website and they said that Bruce's middle name was either Anthony or Allen. I thought Anthony sounded better. <span>Please don't go off on me for this<span>! I checked several websites and no more than three actually had the same answers!**

**Alright, _next _chapter has the big Alfred part. I got carried away with the phone call. I just wanted to show that Bruce has a human side, one that might be rare to see, but is clearly there with the right crowds. If you didn't buy that, I just wanted to show you how the toxins are messing with his mind. He was laughing, smiling, grinning and remarking as if he was half his age, or something like that. I don't know where I was going with this. Point is, I know what to do for next chapter so I can post it tomorrow if you all want that. Review?**

**-F.J. **


	16. Chapter 16

**So… I drew this picture of Dick and Jack. It has Jack, only _way _pudgy because I was just going by memory, with a hand on Dick's shoulder. They're smiling at each other, Dick in that cute little red and white leotard of his with that eyehole-less mask… Then beneath them, it says, "It was nice seeing you again, Dicky" in cursive with the right capitals. I plan to have Dick's scared little face with the, "N-No! It's Dan- Dan Danger!" and then Jack grinning and saying, "You've grown up Grayson, but they still show in you. You can't hide forever, kid…" even though that last part wasn't in the episode. Just _wait _for me to twist and turn it! **

**_Frank Hardy: "Wandering into haunted houses, where untold perils await in the shadows, and mysterious menaces are ready to pounce. Not knowing if we will ever emerge or face life threatening dangers…"_**  
><strong><em><span>Average kid<span>: "We call that Halloween."_**  
><strong><em><span>Joe Hardy:<span> "We call that Thursday."_**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing other than the idea.**

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><p>Alfred shot one final glance to the kettle, a glare demanding it to stay still so it wouldn't have to suffer the consequences to be specific, before he rushed to answer the doorbell. He knew it probably wasn't all too safe with Bruce out of the house, but one of his many butler duties was to answer and tend to the door while his 'family' was out. He was the real-life answering machine, taking messages and notes while silently reaching for the tazor hidden in the desk beside the door because the Master of the house had a ban on guns, caused by a depressing past that no one would be proud to uphold.<p>

The butler was smart enough to look through the view-hole on the door though, checking for a suspicious character or any weaponry, before he undid the lock and eased the stained maple back, looking at the guests. He recognized neither of the two, bringing out his suspicions. It was a 20 year old man, his hair short and black, and a toddler barely 6 from the looks of it with bright eyes and a cheerful smile. The man might've rang a bell in the back of his mind, but Alfred wasn't listening for it.

"Master Bruce is out now, but I'm sure he'll be home tomorrow. Come back then, unless _I _can help you?" his warm eyes settled on the black-haired baby grinning up at him on the porch, a cheerful sparkle settling into his eyes.

The man on the porch blinked in confusion at the butler's odd actions, running a hand over his hair and sighing hard as he remembered. He didn't look like himself, the perfect excuse for the distant stare and the hesitant frown. He hid his eyes in his hand for a second, thinking of the best way to break such difficult of news to the man who became used to the dark set eyes and the troubled frowns.

"I'm pretty sure I told you I'd be home in a few hours ago… a few hours ago," Bruce folded his arms over his chest with a confident smirk, quickly losing composure when Dick got the idea that it'd be funny to try to 'fly' off the railing.

"Lookie daddy, I ca' fly!" the little ebony giggled, scrambling up onto the black post that lined the stairs.

Bruce's eyes widened in pure terror, his arms flying out and quickly wrapping around the little acrobat's stomach, spinning him back down to his feet so he wouldn't cry. The dizziness would keep him well enough occupied while the elder among them tried to settle the minor issues that were easily demonstrated in Alfred's raised eyebrow.

"Excuse me? Are you…" he stopped, grinning slyly and chuckling lightly. "I know the boy I raised. You can't fool me into thinking that you're Bruce. I don't know who put you up to this… What's the boy's name at least?"

Bruce groaned under his breath, shaking his head free from the tension that had begun to leak from the internal bat that had burrowed its way into his heart. Day-by-day, it continued to drag him under until this infection, this mysterious disease, came along and stopped it, instead reversing its power little-by-little until the host body felt like it no longer needed the puppeteer pulling its strings, until the robot felt it no longer needed to be remotely controlled.

"Alfred, please, don't do this. You know damn well who this boy is. It's Dick, and I'm Bruce. At Mount Justice, there was this robotic bug that managed to sneak in and it spread this infection that affects our white blood cell count, de-aging all those infected. We were infected, as were Kid Flash, Artemis, Miss Martian, Superboy and Aqualad. Those five are all kids, ranging from age seven to nine, while Dick here was taken back to what I believe to be six. I was turned back to 24 from the looks of it. If anything, it would be me who would forget _your _face, not the other way around."

The gray haired man at the door was still hesitant. Master Bruce would never swear, especially in front of a small child, let alone his ward. The story made sense though, especially seeing how much the man in front of him knew and how dark the baby's eyes were, but he was trained to be doubtful. He couldn't be taken for a fool, even by such great a story! He had to check.

"Alright…" Alfred set a hand to the door frame, studying the two characters closely. "If you really are who you say… then answer this question. What room is Master Richard's, and why is he there?"

Bruce blinked for a second, searching his mind, brushing past the infection-caused cobwebs, easily picking an answer up out of the ashes of his mind. He dusted it off, polishing it until it shone with the brightest luster, coating it in a primer that would keep it preserved for a while longer than it was originally intended and finishing it off by setting it on a pedestal under the perfect ray of sunshine, starting the angelic choir and shutting off all the lights but the one ray so only one thing was left: the perfect answer.

"Dick is in the second room to the left after you head upstairs. I didn't want him in the first room just in case someone broke in and tried to steal him away from me- us… from us. My room is across from his directly in case something _did _happen, I could easily run across the hall and save him from the dangers. His room is nearest to the Batcave from the outside, so if an intruder comes while I'm off on business, he can get to safety fast without revealing the hiding place to an intruder inside. His room is the most secure in the mansion, as it should be because we knew the day we took him in that he was going to be our little baby to keep forever."

The little toddler froze, his foot hovering in dead air at the words. It was as if they were the right words, the cure to his sickness, cutting through the innocence and temporarily dragging the domino mask-wearing soul from deep within to the surface. Those baby blues held wide to the world, lights flashing as the little black-haired boy weakly waddled to Bruce's side, hugging his leg tightly, his face scrunched up hard as if he planned to cry. Bruce smiled faintly, tousling the boy's hair only after he tensed at the action.

Alfred's surprise was clear, but he was obviously impressed and pleased with the answer. He wasn't sure whether it was the spotlight-caused sparkle or the angelic choir that won him over, but he just knew that this was some variation of Bruce, whether it was a clone or an alien from a parallel universe/dimension. He lightly eased the door back with his shoulders, holding it open to let the younger ebonies inside, only closing it once they were both in. He made sure to lock up tight out of the paranoia that now burnt up deep within him.

He gestured for Bruce to head on into the kitchen before he turned his attention to the first actual _child _to step foot inside the Wayne Manor. Alfred wanted nothing more than to pick up his camera and take a million pictures of his 'grandson', but that wasn't for now. He needed to find out _why _the ebony was so adorable before he began to abuse the fact in flashes and clicks of the most frantic kind. He knelt to one knee, setting a gentle hand to the little boy's shoulder.

"Hey Dick…" he cooed lightly, catching the innocent blue eyes with his own. "You hungry?"

The five year old hesitated, set-off by the question at first before he smiled lightly and nodded, seeming to recall the phone conversation from before. Pizza and French fries swam before his eyes, swimming in the great oceans of caffeine and sugary drinks that bogged his mind, trying to bury all of the horrid secrets that kept trying to bubble up and repossess his subconscious. It seemed Robin was buried far beneath the shore, his hero costume buried beside his circus outfit, all of the horrid reasons to frown acting like rocks in his pockets. He still struggled, but he was running out of air.

Dick bobbed his head slowly, smiling sheepishly and twisting his torso, his hands clasped in front of him whilst he teetered on his toes. That was all Alfred needed to see for him to straighten up, offering the younger his hand and leading him into the kitchen after Bruce, picking him up and helping him into the chair across from the older ebony. He pushed the chair into the table before heading to the oven where a pizza had been faithfully cooking away.

"Start talking, Wayne," he demanded, pulling the door open and wincing as the wave of heat struck his face.

The pizza smelt ready, but the bacon bits betrayed it in showing that it still had a few minutes left until it could be set out to cool down. The bits and their immaturity shot a new question through his mind and he raised his head fast, cutting Bruce off just as the billionaire opened his mouth.

"Better yet- would you mind telling me exactly how Master Richard is this blissful and happy? Why is he giggling and talking so innocently as if he still has a world to face? Why is there a bright eyed child on Wayne property?" the more words slipped past, the more rage seemed to fuel the butler's interrogation, causing Bruce's subtle smile to waver until it could no longer stand on its own.

The man sat still for a moment, picking up his mug from the tabletop and pressing it to his lips merely for the warmth has he rounded his thoughts, binding the best summaries together and speaking calmly.

"From what I've noticed so far…" Bruce began, slowly setting the cup down as to avoid the tedious 'plink', "It seems that they're-…"

"I KNOW!" Dick cried excitedly, being the second person within a minute to cut the regularly dressed Batman off.

He nearly rocketed out of his chair, his eyes sparkling madly in the dim light far above his head. To catch himself, he simply grabbed Bruce's newspaper, wobbling for a moment before he grinned ear-to-ear in a Cheshire fashion. That earned him all the eyes in the room besides his own, making him feel special for a moment, almost as if he was under a spotlight.

"Do tell…?" Alfred probed, folding his arms over his chest curiously.

Dick lessened his grip on the newspaper, beaming proudly at the knowledge that suddenly made him the focus of their attention. His memory was shaky, but he figured if he helped, that pizza in the oven would be for him and he was hungry again, pizza sounding better than anything money could buy in Toys'R'Us. The ebony made sure to take a seat as to not aggravate the adults as he recalled hearing that standing on furniture was naughty and would keep him from his Christmas presents before he actually told his tale.

"I'm a tomato… and my tomato juice is moldy. It's not red no more! All white an' icky… A bat tried to take the icky out of me, but he couldn't fix me and now I broken. But that okay… I no wanna be eated by giants," dark blue hid from the world as an anime-like innocent smile crossed over the little boy's lips, drawing a faint 'aw' from Alfred's lips, his smile hidden by his hand.

Even Bruce couldn't help but smile at the innocent talk, finding Dick's simplified and twisted perspective simply adorable. He wanted nothing more than to hug his little bird tight to his chest; the only thing keeping him from it was the reminder that the boy wasn't a bird anymore and wasn't his yet. No, this was somebody's son, not a ward, no matter how much memory he lacked.

"Pretty close," Bruce congratulated the kid in a little voice before turning his eyes to Alfred. "What he means is that his blood, or tomato juice I suppose, is overpopulated with white blood cells which… I assume he means by the mold thing… Although this case isn't a new thing, he isn't suffering the regular symptoms that come with it! The white blood cells seem to be eating away at his age, completely ignoring the systems that they would normally attack."

Alfred pursed his lips in thought, going silent as he pulled the pizza from the oven with a glove mitt, setting a timer on the stove so they wouldn't burn their palates on the sizzling dough, cheese and other delicious ingredients that filled the kitchen with a delightful aroma.

"Then why not just pump the blood they're missing back into their bodies while pumping out the stuff they don't need? A blood transfusion, yes?" he suggested with a weak shrug, putting the mitts away and going for the pizza cutter.

Bruce's eyes widened before they narrowed back to their regular width. He took a long sip of tea, calming himself before answering.

"You're suggesting we just blindly pump blood into him? I mean, I see what you're suggesting and how it _could _work, but this is my ba-… this is Dick we're talking about here. I don't want to run the risk of hurting him. If we lost him…" he let his words trail off for effect, studying Alfred's face for a reaction.

The butler didn't bat an eyelash before he reached up and pulled three plates from the cabinets, pulling a small glass cup down soon after. He cracked open the fridge, grabbing the carton of milk and filling the glass only halfway.

"Then take precautions. I never said you had to rush it. Although our boy is a kid, he doesn't seem to be de-aging dramatically. I say you have time, and until you find a proper cure, it's worth a try? Just put him out, start to drain him and then start to fusion the new blood into him. What have you to lose? If anything, he'll get sick, but then you could just put the white blood cells back in," he elaborated himself, putting the milk away again and tending to the mini meal.

Bruce frowned to himself, scratching his head lightly before he stood up and stuck his hands into his pockets lightly. The idea sounded like it was possible, but possible wasn't a promise saying that Bruce's eyes would open the next day without having a funeral to attend. He was willing to try almost anything, but anything was practically a death certificate, his agreement being his signature in permanent ink. It wouldn't be his name on that certificate, if he had any say.

"I'm going to go talk to the others, see what they think," Bruce excused himself, hovering in the door for a moment, his heart heavy.

What was this feeling tearing at his heart? This painful, dreadful, agonizing weight that ripped him apart? The hurt that throbbed away at him? It wasn't love… no, it was much to horrible to be something so sweet. Could it be… fear? Was he afraid? No, that would be a stupid idea. The Batman feared nothing! … right?

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><p><strong>I've been meaning to update this for a while but I'm a procrastinator. Of the worst kind. <strong>"**If you truly, truly want to live in the rainbow, you gotta put up with the ** rain," –Brendon Urie. ****Review?**

**-F.J. **


	17. Chapter 17

**I had to Google it to make sure, but I found that getting a blood transfusion usually isn't dangerous, but if these kids have a regular amount of blood, despite the fact that they only have one part of it, they could OD on iron. That is potentially fatal because having too much iron in your system messes with how your heart and liver function. Because Alfred's idea seems to be out of the question for now, I had to think up a few others which is why this is late. **

**In this chapter, you will probably see the hints at my hatred for Chalant. It will be my voice through Batman though. It might seem in character too, which is even better! Yay for over-protective guardians! I mean, on some counts that could suck, but this is good for this particular situation… **

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing, loves!**

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><p>Wally's bright eyes suddenly dimmed, his agape lips lightly closing to hide the teeth that quickly grit themselves in a hopeless attempt to muffle oncoming pain. When the bright emeralds lost their luster, a tidal wave of water came rushing down to their exhibit to desperately clean them and scrub away, hoping that the sparkle would come back if they wore away at the surface. With their efforts, they just drowned the exhibit, sending a blast of water out the glass windows and down the sides of the building, darkening a path on the concrete of the walls as it fell.<p>

The exit doors that had previously been sealed with heavy bars that had locked the building consisting of Wally's face down now were forced open to try to drain the building even faster, air rushing out in gentle gasps. The alarms were the quick beat of the ginger's heart, two small trembling hands raising up to pull roughly at the reddish brown tinted roof. They tried to pry it open to give the water another way out, but all they did was worsen the situation with the pain the building took from it.

"No… n-no! You're lying…" Wally desperately cried into his hands, his small frame shaking as the exhibit began to fill to the top, the amount of water breaking through the windows growing and growing to an impossible amount.

Barry's face contorted in a mixture of worry and fear, quickly pulling his nephew to his chest and pressing the tear-soaked face to his shirt. He leaned his head down, pressing his lips sympathetically to the ginger's hair, pulling his head up to rest his chin there instead. He rubbed the small back carefully, averting his eyes painfully.

"Shh…" he cooed, his voice filled with regret. "It's okay… I… I'm here… Take a deep breath… you're going to be okay. Come on, kiddo! You're a West! All West boys are big and tough!"

His words did nothing to lessen the tears, only propelling the seven year old to dig his nails into the back of his uncle's shirt, holding it in a death grip. The faint breaths of the sobs that spilled past his pale lips were just barely muffled by the white cloth in front of them, but he shook hard enough for his pain to be visible for anyone else. One of the 'anyone else' was his Aunt Iris.

The second her eyes fell on his broken figure, they widened in terror, giving her reason to run across the kitchen floor in her tall high heels. The sharp clicks matched her nephew's heartbeat until her black slacks covered knees hit the floor at his side, easily prying him from her husband's chest, hugging him to her own instead. She pulled him back a second, pressing a kiss to his nose lightly, her eyes full of the worst kind of concern.

"Wally, baby… what's wrong?" she murmured lightly, her red eyebrows furrowed roughly.

Her red hair was tied down at the nape of her neck in a tight ponytail, so every worried attribute on her face stood out that much more. Iris' eyes shot to Barry quickly as her ginger-haired nephew turned his head and bound his arms tight around her, his eyes that were screwed up oh so tightly turned to face the windows instead of the buttons of her blouse. The tears were as rough as ever, his teeth closing again to try to seem a bit more of a man in front of this particular woman.

"I-I'm a f-f-f-freak, Auntie Iris!" he choked out, a strangled scream sounding in the back of his throat.

Her green eyes grew enormous, nimble fingers with French manicured nails entangling lightly in his hair. She held him as tight as she could without causing him harm, his sorrow passing on to her, her fragile heart shattering in her chest.

"No honey! You're not a freak! You're a normal little boy- one who's perfect in _every _way," she said the words faintly, knowing from experience that soft words always seemed to calm him. "Now where in the world would you get the idea that you're anything but that?"

Barry's face darkened, touching his hands to his knees to push himself back to his feet. He ran a hand through his hair remorsefully, keeping it there as he sighed heavily. Iris' eyes narrowed in suspicion, her lips falling into a line that threatened a sentence no worse than death if it was her husband's names that slipped past Wally's lips. The tombstone was already chiseled, the grave five feet and growing as the workers dug furiously to accommodate the coffin that was about to be dropped.

"U-Uncle Barry… s-said no one… else i-in the world could d-d-do this," the little boy held up his hand, making it vibrate so fast it became a blur in the air before he rewrapped it around the back of her blouse, "s-said… I wasn't n-normal… c-called me 'special'… Then… then h-he told me…"

Wally's voice shattered before he could continue, but Iris didn't want him to go on. She had to go get the shovel from the shed and Barry's best tuxedo from the closet. When the blonde saw the fury in her eyes, he held his hands up defensively, fear written loud across his features.

"Iris- I didn't mean to upset him this bad! I thought he'd think it was cool that he was different!" the dead man stood up for himself, taking a careful step back, bumping into the counter which caused him to jump in surprise.

Iris pressed her hand over Wally's exposed ear to muffle the Hell that she allowed to break loose, the rage spilling off her lips in a milder dosage mostly as to not further upset Wally.

"Barry Allen…" she growled lightly, trembling with rage. "_No kid his age wants to be different! They don't want to be odd until they're older! And 'special' is an insult now! You apologize to him this instant or I swear to God, I'm going to beat the living sh_-!"

"I already said I'm sorry!" Barry cut her off, holding a hand out worriedly. "I'm not used to taking care of kids! I forgot what special meant to them! That's not what he's crying about though, Iris. Take a da-… take a _second _to listen to him! Any boy related to you wouldn't get this emotional over being told he's different!"

At the anger in the blonde's tone, Iris gained a faint wounded accent to her face, her hand lightening around Wally's ear. She pulled back from him, pressing a kiss blindly to his forehead before walking up to her husband angrily.

"Don't you yell at me!" she cried, her hands balled into defensive fists at her side.

"I wasn't yelling at you!" Barry yelled back, throwing his arms up. "_You_'_re _the one yelling! And in front of Wally too! Just calm down and let me talk for once!"

"For once? You _never _let me talk! You're _always _cutting me off! I never get a ch-!"

"That's not true!"

"You did it just there! You didn't let me finish! When I married you, you said this was a sacred vow, that we'd be equal!"

"We _are _equal, Iris! Where'd you get the idea we aren't? Because we're arguing in a _kitchen_? I was in here first! I cook most nights!"

"_You're never home! _You devote all your time to your work with the League! What if _I _want you to myself one night?"

"I have a world to save! And you're one to talk! _You're out every night, _talking to men I don't know in a place I can't monitor you! How do I know you aren't sleeping with them all?"

"How do I know _you _haven't screwed Wonder Tits up there?"

Wally was curled into a ball on the floor, his hands over his ears, screaming bloody murder, sobs racking his small frame. The 'future' memories of his parents doing the same thing his aunt and uncle were doing flooded in, breaking his heart even further, tearing him apart. This kitchen was just like his bedroom: ground zero. Only in the 'future', he had a door and a pillow to muffle himself from the blast. Now he was suffering the full effects and he couldn't take it.

"_STOP IT! STOP! STOP FIGHTING!_" he roared, digging his nails into his head.

His screams only mingled with theirs, pure Hellfire burning the kitchen to ashes around him, his tears eventually knocking him unconscious on the tile. The water still spilled idly down his cheeks, never stopping, even when Barry's communicator went off. He bared his teeth at Iris, obviously ready to yell at her, but work called. He set a finger to it, activating it.

"WHAT?" he screamed into the line, shaking with pure rage.

Iris' mascara was already running, tears shaking her figured frame, soft gaspy sobs falling from her lips.

"S-See? It's always work! I mean nothing to you!" she yelled, running from the room with a final sob.

Barry's heart shattered hard, tears burning in his own eyes, a hand reaching out after her.

"Iris!" he cried, giving a bitter gasp of pain, falling to the ground beside Wally brokenly.

There was silence all around until the voice on the other end of the line finally spoke up. They seemed to wait until Barry had pulled the unconscious baby from the floor up into his lap, cradling him lightly.

"B… Barry..? Is everything alright?" Bruce's voice was barely a breath, the worry clear in his tone.

Barry wiped hard at his eyes, taking a hard breath of uncertainty.

"No… it's just… Tensions are just high. We're used to Wally being gone, but not… n-not like this…" a pale hand brushed the hair off the ginger's forehead, wincing at the increased temperature on the soft forehead. "Please… tell me you have good news."

Bruce still hesitated, but when he regained his breath, he still kept his voice quiet.

"Not quite, but it isn't bad news either. Alfred had a suggestion as to… _possibly _reverse this and I wanted to check it with you. You're the scientist among us."

Barry sighed, picking up his nephew and walking into the living room with the small boy in his arms, blinking past the blur in his eyes.

"I uh… yeah… Let me hear it…"

He was ready for this to be over. He wanted to just wake up to the sound of Wally screaming because he set the oven on fire while trying to cook a full bodied chicken for breakfast or the sound of his nephew screaming, "Crap! Crap! Agh- Uncle Barry! I can't fix it!" He wanted it all to go back to normal. He didn't want kids. He wanted a hero. He _needed _a hero.

"He suggested we pump out the amount of blood that they didn't need while we transfuse in the parts they do need. You know, in with the good and out with the bad?" the Dark Knight's voice lacked the regular darkness now, something that Barry hated in itself.

The blonde had become used to the gruff voice, the voice that always made him feel a bit safer despite the fact that he was a married man. He thought over the idea through his insecurity, laying his baby down on the couch, propping his head up with a pillow and snatching a blanket off the back of the armchair.

"I don't recommend it," Barry frowned, cracking the blanket like a whip into the air over Wally which flattened it out enough to fall over his small form, "If we did that, there's a chance we could put in too much iron which is potentially fatal."

He leaned down, tucking the edges of the blanket under the ginger's sides, his expression soft and distant for a moment.

"E-everything is _potentially _fatal! Look- Barry- I want my little boy back. You know I hate begging, but I'm willing to do it if that's what it takes for you to think up something else that could save them."

Barry grimaced at the tone. It was so young, so childish, so un-Batman! He hated it! Where was Batman? Where was Bruce? Screw what this imposter wanted! He wanted his _friend _back! He thought nonetheless, taking a seat at his nephew's covered feet.

"I… If you're that desperate, we could hire a team of the best, most-trusted doctors in the world to do it. I mean, money is obviously no issue with you… or we could ask Zatara's girl. She's pretty good with magic…" he suggested brokenly, patting Wally's leg absently.

There wasn't even time to take a breath before Bruce rushed his answer.

"No. There's no way any girl, hero or not, is touching Dick. I'll start a search on the doctors."

Barry smiled faintly, his eyes weak as he forced himself to his feet again.

"We might not have a choice, Wayne… You keep a look out, but if you don't have someone in 74 hours, I'm consulting her. Now, I have to… go straighten some things out. Good luck with your search," Barry removed his communicator, laying it down by Wally's curled up fingers.

Then he headed back towards the bedroom, finding Iris heading down the hallway towards him already. They both froze, averting their eyes regretfully before they closed the distance and pressed their lips together in apology. Iris slung her arms around her husband's neck, tears still slowly falling, lifting one foot out of habit. They pulled back before it could get too passionate, meeting each other's gaze.

"I'm sorry-!" they both blurted out, laughing sheepishly before they wrapped their arms around each other again tightly.

"It's just…" Iris started to apologize further.

"The situation's a little rough. I shouldn't have yelled. Iris, I'm unbelievably sorry. I made you cry and I can't just-," Barry stopped her.

To ignore the fact that he cut her off, Iris pressed their lips together again. This time, she cut him off, all anger slowly melting away as they lost themselves under the other's touch. For a second, everything felt normal, but then Wally's faint snores cut through the illusion, breaking open the fresh scars in their hearts.

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><p><strong>Yeah, that turned out… a lot more depressing that planned… I just wanted to show how they were all breaking under the pressure… I was also going to mention how Barry told Wally that his parents aren't together anymore because in my mind, they aren't. I didn't want to depress you guys any further though... I guess I'm just feeling a little grim. It's funny because when we started out, I was feeling 'excited' if you get what I'm hinting at. So… please don't yell at me. I got a Wally chapter in… Whoo. Review?<strong>

**-F.J.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Someone fucking reported me. That's why this is so late. My Moments fic was reported. I know I violated the rules of the site, but they didn't notice until some fucking bastard decided to turn it in! Do you know how many chapters I had? How much fun I had typing it? How fucking pissed I am? When I got the notification… I broke down and started sobbing… I… I've never lost a fic… It was like losing a baby. And just like a proper mother should, I'm going to try again. I'll start over until I have my baby back. I'm so… heartbroken is an understatement. I'm just going to have to keep a back-up… Why didn't I do that all along? DAMNIT! Damnit… Well… enjoy… this… **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the apology I owe to you all for taking so damn long to type this up.**

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><p>It was a topic to be argued about, the one pondering where it was that the true heroes were to station themselves, be it on Earth in a secret hideout inside a mountain or millions of miles away in space, secured in a floating tower of life sustainable materials. Even the heroes would pause from time-to-time to consider the question, seeing that some of them refused to consider the occupants of Mt. Justice as real heroes, but no one had ever taken the time to really define a hero's location. Even now, not even half of the heroes were in the same location.<p>

Most of the heroes were out following up on leads in the hopes of finding a cure to reverse the de-aging effect that had taken the team of ex-sidekicks by surprise, spread out across the globe far and wide. A couple of the heroes had taken this mission off for a day, spending time with their families to catch them up on why they wouldn't be able to come home until a solution found. There were only three actual heroes in one of the two locations, all found in Mt. Justice, but they weren't stationed there. No, these three caped men were working.

Superman silently ghosted through the air, his eyes a fierce scarlet as they scanned the surroundings in places mortal eye couldn't see. It was mostly his ears though that were working, listening for even the faintest breath, listening for faint metallic clicks and the whirring that comes with a machine turning its camera view, the noise that human ears were oblivious to. He managed to hover motionlessly, his red cape billowing around his ankles, circling in place as he tried to move the least he could.

Red Tornado walked as quiet as he could across the floor, his internal systems looking over the room for any life-form or technology that his systems didn't recognize. He didn't have to walk far, his eyes cutting through even the heaviest of furniture to see what was behind it. Every time he took a step, he gained a cruel glance from Superman for breaking the concentration, only further reminding him that if he had lips, he would most definitely be smirking now.

Martian Manhunter, who did possess green-tinted lips, was smirking faintly as he silently ghosted through the air, passing through the concrete walls as if it was nothing but a thin fall of water. He kept his feet in the room with the other two heroes as he did a final scan of the ZETA room, searching one last time for the supposed spider-like camera that was to be responsible for the effects on the team he was used to serving beside. He wanted this thing found and disposed of for the soul purpose of returning the Leaguers back to their regular states- and returning his niece to her old stage of course.

He froze a moment, hovering his feet before he touched down. It had taken nearly a week of figuring with the mask-bearers never standing above four foot five and the five hours they had been scouring this make-shift base for something to occur to him. The soles of his shoes hit with a click, earning him the gaze of the other two caped heroes, one gaze glared and the other unmoving. They noted the intensity of his confusion, his scarlet eyes staring off distantly with an upset town to them.

"Is there a problem?" Red Tornado inquired, his voice the same as it always was, not a trace of worry to the robotic monotone.

Martian Manhunter lightly touched a hand to his forehead, frowning to himself, "I… it could be nothing… but…"

He stopped himself, his eyes seeming to spot something off in the distance with a shine to its metal skin. Could it be…? No, that was a fork. He shook his head stubbornly, as if to shake the hope that had sprung up suddenly free from his mind, earning him the interested gaze of Superman.

"… But what?" he dragged out the lost thought, folding his arms over his chest, touching his feet down while his eyes continued scanning.

The Martian sighed, setting a hand to his head to keep it still, looking to the ebony without getting a returned glance. He was fine with that, preferring not to have too much attention on the thought he was about to express.

"Well… my darling M'Gann… She has the power to shape shift into _any _form she desires. She could simply go back to looking sixteen in a breath without any form of effort, yet she looks to be no older than seven! It… it makes me a bit suspicious of my own kin," his deep voice was a bit hesitant in its admittance, an averted gaze bringing pure suspicion to the outer coating of his features.

Now the alien had gained the Kryptonian's gaze, but he didn't want it. The betrayal he felt matched no other, coursing through his foreign veins while it seemed to grow massively in strength, like a man desperate enough to inject his veins with a drug that would make his muscles bulge with power. Martian Manhunter's veins weren't peeking through the forced transparency of his skin as it stretched to accommodate his massive arm size.

"Are you proposing Miss Martian is responsible for the… uh… thing that happened to the kids?" Superman raised an eyebrow, taking the idea into consideration.

Martian Manhunter chose to not directly reply, feeling guilty enough as it was.

"I… Just don't let your guard down," he advised, hovering his feet up again and disappearing into the wall.

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><p>The Hall of Justice was a regal place held in high regards, falsely known for being the exact house of the heroes, but the public had no need of knowing that it was a lie. The Hall was like Santa Claus, a secret that's supposed to be kept until the victims lied to are old enough to accept the fact that they've believed in something that ridiculous for so long. It was usually roped off for anyone under sidekick rank until a distant future date upon which it would be open as a museum, an idea still being seldom discussed.<p>

Today though, casual crowds stared on in wonder as four _kids_ nearly a third of their age sat on the steps in a messy little square, their faces shadowed by tiny pouts and teary gazes. It seemed as if someone had opened the dictionary and brought the word mope to life, cursing it upon the innocent little frames. These four all seemed oblivious to the eyes on them, more occupied in the darker toned conversation they were sharing in the soft terms meant for no one else to hear.

"It… it isn't fair," Megan sniffled, her fingertips entangling in the few strands of fiery bands that dangled over her forehead, free from her braids.

Artemis lay with her single blonde braid draped over the end of the redhead's thigh, resting the back of her head on the dip in the Martian's skirt. She had before hid her eyes from the sun with her pale fingers, but now she removed one and captured a green tinted hand. She pulled it away from the hidden amber eyes, comfortingly lacing their fingers in an innocent act.

"What isn't fair, Megsy?" she asked gently, tilting her head a bit to capture the saddened gaze above hers.

Perfect white teeth gently tugged at a scarlet bottom lip, a flush dusting itself over the adorable little freckles that clashed oddly with the smooth skin of her cheeks. She lightly curled her fingers around Artemis', mostly to assure her friend that she was okay, thankful for the affection all the same.

"It's just… It doesn't seem like they want us…" she muttered, brushing her bangs back with her free hand, dropping it down to lightly play with the loose frays of the blonde's braid.

Artemis frowned, her eyebrows furrowing at the thought as she tried to make sense of it. The other two boys on the steps were a bit older, but they understood no more of it than she did from the befuddlement on their features.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Conner's voice was peaked to the brim with curiosity, not an ounce of the regular anger that used to lace every syllable at such suggestions.

The ebony and Kaldur were seated just barely below the two girls so they had to lean back on their elbows and turn their gazes upside-down to look at the girl they seeked an audience from.

"Yes, what does that suggest? Why would they not want us?" Kaldur added, turning his eyes to Conner for a breath before glancing back up at the redhead.

Megan's pout was thin, the affection and attention easing the sorrow up a little, but she still held a crest manner to her fall.

"Look at us! They kicked us out onto the steps alone! Other kids are probably watching TV and arguing with their siblings. Why aren't we in a house? Where are our cartoons? Why aren't we yelling at each other?" she hopelessly asked, her eyes narrowed as if it was the boys' fault.

They seemed to sense her anger, jumping a little. Icy blue eyes met misty green ones, seeming to come to some mutual agreement spoken through a language Batman would've adopted them for learning. A dark tinted hand curled into a fist, lightly hitting a pale shoulder, a barely audible clap sounding when flesh hit flesh.

"I wanted to kick you in the head when you put jelly on the plastic spoon and kept on flicking it at me," Kaldur said slowly, in a near monotoned voice with a louder pitch than normal.

Conner's eyes widened falsely, returning the action just as gently.

"I wanted to beat you with a toaster oven when you wouldn't let me put a 'kick me' sign on the back of the red robot guy in marker earlier," the ebony calmly retorted in the same tone.

They pretended to glare at each other a moment before looking up at Megan with hopeful and eager eyes, confused at her hiccupping smile. Artemis even had her head turned, her cheeks lightly resting on the magenta fabric beneath her, a small grin settled over her pink lips.

"Was that what normal kids do?" Kaldur asked, his eyebrows furrowed, falling back to his elbows and tilting his head back.

Conner watched him, quickly following suit as to not look odd.

"Humans are weird," he commented unconsciously, completely forgetting that Artemis wasn't of Atlantean or alien origin.

The ginger girl simply shook her head, giggling faintly before she began falling again, the crest now more visible than ever. She slipped her hand from Artemis' which earned a pout from the blonde, instead hugging her stomach with one arm and cradling her cheek with the other.

"We're not normal kids… we're just alone out here on the steps…" she pointed out, her pupils looking up through her eyelashes.

That seemed to draw a sigh from the group again, slumping their shoulders and darkening their expressions. Conner and Kaldur fell forward on their knees, cupping their faces in their palms while Artemis entwined her fingers and rested them on his stomach. It lasted like that, sadness settled over them in the form of a silence, until one of them became a mini Bruce Banner, unable to handle it much longer and snapping into the beast within.

"No! We're not alone!" Kaldur stood up fast, his voice lowering dramatically in pitch, his face gaining a new approach.

He seemed to find his inner Aqualad, his nonexistent cape billowing roughly in the nonexistent wind behind him. He had his hands on his hips, one foot raised to a higher step so that knee was bent, a determined look chiseled roughly into his features. That earned him all six eyes while his own were staring up at the tip of the Hall, his memories flooding back at an alarming rate.

"Do not lose faith! We are heroes, Batman reminded us of that, and heroes do not sit alone and mope! Heroes dress up in gaudy clothing and parade down the streets, saving kittens from trees!" he reminded them, his voice loud and echous as he grinned down at them, relieved to find their eyes eager as his own. "What do you say heroes? Who would like to go save a kitten?"

He expected them to get excited from his words, but he still found himself surprised when they all jumped to their feet, cheering and grinning happily at the idea. The blonde chuckled under his breath, lazily rolling his eyes as he took off down the steps with the others trailing behind him like a tidal wave.

* * *

><p>Captain Marvel hovered above the steps, his eyes wide, his head swiveling with concern written clear into his features that were forced nearly three times older than they should've looked in actuality. He ignored the cheers of the crowd that surrounded the base of the steps, his attention fully on the missing children that should've been sitting on the stairs like they had been instructed. Where could they have gone? He ran a hand through his hair violently, biting his lip in frustration.<p>

"Gosh dangit!" he cried angrily, tearing through the air, his eyes scanning the earth as he flew, running circles several times in case the kids were purposefully hiding from him.

The ebony's stomach was tied into the severest of Boy Scout knots simply at the thought of what the League was going to do to him, specifically Batman, if they knew he had lost the kids. They'd murder him, remove his head, shrink it and attach it to a stick, cementing it as a centerpiece on the conference table up in the Watch Tower as a warning to the future heroes on what their fates would be if they botched as simple a task as this like he did.

'_Or worse! They'll make me change my name to __Boy __Marvel!_' he thought to himself with gritted teeth. _'No offense Robin. Having _boy _in your title tends to push the ladies away…_'

Captain Marvel sighed under his breath frustratedly, clenching his hands into fists and flying high, fretting his ten year old heart straight from his chest.

'_I don't get it… What's so bad about having kids on the team? I'm a kid and I made LEAGUE status! I could use some friends… maybe now they won't be such jerks to me…_' the last thought gave him the hope he needed to keep on flying, his eyes scanning for the four frames, the worrying thought of death leaving his mind for a moment.

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><p><strong>I'm still pissed. Someone's going to die for this. I recommend you all to sleep with your doors locked and the safety on the rifles in your hands off. So yeah… Sorry this wasn't exactly my best. I just… can't think straight. I didn't look over this. Excuse the ooc-ness and the grammatical errors... any suggestions for the next chapter are welcome. I know who did it... I have the 'baddie' planned... but... who do you want to hear from? I'm still in tears… I wrote this on the 28th. But they told me I couldn't post it. Ready to go kill a kitten. With my thumb. And a bull dozer. So… review? <strong>

**-F.J. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters or the majority of the idea. Extreme OOC warning.**

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><p>A toy store is but a safe haven for children of all ages, even those well up in their forties with a heart brimming with good intention and curiosity, each shelf a part of the many making up the two large walls forming yet another aisle to run down with a large grin and sparkling eyes. Each row, delicate in manner, is arranged to a certain pattern so that all items of the same genre are in the same general vicinity.<p>

Baby Cries a Lot would probably be in the same aisle as Pregnant Teen Barbie and Rock Star Polly Pockets, across from a Dora Saves the Mermaid Kingdom costume and Tiana's dress from the Princess and the Frog. The aisle to its right would most likely have the NERF Shotgun beside the chibi WWE Randy Savage and Ray Mysterio action figures or the flame striped black bicycle helmet.

Whoever put the aisle design together always makes the fatal mistake of placing the cool looking toys on the bottom shelves where grabby hands like to take them from the shelf and put them into the cart without the notice of their guardians. When said guardians notice, they lift the item from their cart and leave it on a random shelf where it is completely out of place to any foreign glances upon it.

As Bruce found himself sitting on the wooden park bench, jacketed elbows resting along slacked knees, he felt just like the moved toy. His A. Testoni's had the graying blades of grass curled up around their vamp and counters resembling tendrils of the gentlest kind holding him down. The dark brown of his eyes darted from the silver tint of his watch up to the man sitting beside him, barely a foot between their thighs.

"Barry..." the ebony found himself uncomfortably whining beneath his breath, "They're still staring. Can we go now?"

The older blonde didn't take his eyes from his phone screen, thumbs swiftly gliding along the small keys in a blur as they had been for the past half-hour, giving a small grunt under his breath. He seemed to click the send button, sparing a glance up to the bachelor beside him with the faintest of a smile.

"You really aren't used to this kid thing, are you?" sympathy darted across his features, the faint smile growing to a smirk at the helplessness on the tanner of the two's face.

Barry glanced up at the women across the park, sitting identical to how they were, whispering and pointing over at Bruce with small smiles and pink tints to their cheeks. This had been going on from the second they had sat down, and every second of it had been extremely awkward for the Dark Knight. As much fun as it was to watch him awkwardly twitch, the blonde took pity on his friend.

He turned, draping his legs over the ebony's knees, throwing an arm around the tallest between them's neck, reconnecting to his phone by raising his other hand. He straightened his back for the added height, leaning in so his lips were close to the exposed ear, ignoring the near-mortified expression that he had caused.

"Don't look like that. If we let them think, they'll look away," Barry urged, earning a frustrated huff from the ebony before he felt an arm snake around his back awkwardly, "Good boy. Now, what's up with the awkwardness? You're usually quite the player with the ladies, Wayne…"

The blonde inched back just enough that it wasn't too awkward for him, eyes lighting up at the reply Iris had sent him, a slight blush lining his cheek bones at the wording. As he replied, Bruce glanced over at him trying to seem as if it wasn't as awkward as it really was with a small smile.

"That's because _usually, _when I'm with the ladies, Dick's back home with Alfred or over at your house with Wally. It just doesn't feel right flirting with women in front of him. I always feel like it makes it look like I'm cheating, or something like that," he admitted, eyes drifting slowly to where his ward stood.

Barry's eyes were mischievously glinted towards the screen of his Blackberry, face lit up in a devious smirk, managing to balance his conversations before his speeding fingers could press the send key.

"You don't have a wife. You've never had one, nor a fiancé or even a girlfriend… Dick always talks about this stuff at dinner when Iris makes her best. It's not cheating if there isn't someone to cheat on… If you don't, he might just assume you to be gay," the blonde sounded incredibly distant, raising his eyes with the same mischief-drenched look specifically for Bruce, "Just like those ladies over there do."

A chuckle drifted from his lips soon after an embarrassed fist connected with his forearm, another chuckle echoing his own as the arm around him became honest.

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><p>Six pairs of innocent eyes stared hopelessly up into the limbs of a tall oak to the right of the playground, peeking through the wide brimmed leaves at the wide eyed kitten clinging to a thin outstretched branch of the tree. Its gray coat was striped with white tufts, the blue of its irises looking down at them between helpless mewls of fear.<p>

"I cannot believe there was an actual cat in a tree," Kaldur muttered in disbelief, rubbing his head absently.

The other kids thought nothing of the conveniency of the feline's location, only of how they were to get it down. If their mindsets had returned to normal, they would have the cat in the arms of its rejoicing owner and halfway along to the beach to take the afternoon off. Today though, as it had been for what felt like a long time, they were looking through eyes of innocence that only showed them a difficult feat that would take them a near impossible amount of time to come to the realization that they could just climb the tree to retrieve it.

"Well, it's up there," Artemis stuck her tongue out at him, folding her arms over her chest, "Now how do we get it down?"

The little pairs of eyes anxiously darted about from one another, trying to read the other expressions for an answer that they themselves couldn't think of. All they seemed to see was the brilliantly colored irises and the reflections of each other playing on the swiftly gliding pupils. This exchange went on for a long while until the intensity of such glances seemed to crack through one of their consciousnesses, leaking through one of the unforgettable traits that had helped make this one person who he was.

"We could meow at it," Wally suggested, an innocent smile on his lips.

Just like it had been when their memory had been with them, no one seemed to like the 'genius' of his idea.

"Don't be stupid," Conner sneered, eyes narrowing lightly, "Cats aren't afraid of other cats. We have to bark at it."

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><p>Bruce raised his gaze in surprise when a barrage of high-pitched barks came from the direction his ward was in, following the noise back and hanging his head in shame as he recognized the lot of children on their hands and knees chirping up at the treetops.<p>

"I don't know if I can take this much longer. That boy isn't the one I took in a few years ago… this is just a kid. Do you really think Zatara can help age them back?" he turned his eyes to Barry who was still draped over his lap.

The blonde had pocketed his phone long ago, meeting the dark gaze beside him.

"I don't know, Wayne… I think they're kind of cute," he teased, drumming a nonexistent tune on the ebony's shoulder as his arm was still draped around it.

Bruce's expression didn't show any more approval at the 'point'.

"I don't need a sidekick who's 'cute'. I need one who can tie his shoes and take down a bad guy in silence!"

Barry chuckled softly under his breath, gazing upwards to the sky. The perfect light blue was marred by the appearance of every ghostly puff that stretched its albino swirls as far as it felt necessary. It was almost a bit too beautiful to be true for a day like this.

"You're only looking at the bad parts in this. I know they call you the _Dark _Knight, but it wouldn't kill you to be optimistic every once in a while. Think about it. Dick doesn't remember _anything _about his past. As far as he knows, you're his full blood family! He thinks you're his real dad! Instead of raising a kid that you're just babysitting 'til he's legal, why not raise a son?"

Barry's words turned cogs and gears rapid in the ebony's mind, his lips pursing in hard thought at the opportunity that could unfurl from this awful a situation. His conscious shoved a stick hard between the crevices that helped to wind said gears though, stopping the thoughts and transferring the pressure on his thoughts to his features.

"He isn't mine to raise, Barry. Dick has his own family and his own past, a life that gave him the strength he needed to become a sidekick in the first place. Without these memories, he'll just be fighting and protecting because I want him to… and that would be even more selfish than raising him on a lie," the justice voice in his head brought forth, staring questions down at the position he was in.

Barry followed the gaze down, quickly straightening himself beside the ebony with a good space between their thighs, bending in his knee and resting his left thigh to the back of the bench with his ankle under his opposite knee.

"You think too hard on this. Dick is already hesitant enough on being hero! His childhood has him sheltered a bit. He already hesitates before finishing an attack, preferring defense to the attacks you violently throw out. Everything he does now is just to gain your approval! If you show him that he already has this approval, raising him on it, you can get him to defend the world because he _wants _to. In his mind, it'll be the world you two share and he'll do whatever it takes to defend it," the blonde argued.

Bruce's eyebrows furrowed hard, his lips parting to keep a strong hold on the stubborn supports he had raised himself on, harboring himself high from the dangers of a 'normal' life. An argument was strong on his tongue, lacing it like the fibers that managed to shelter the emotion in his eyes from the men he fought out on the field with their white décor. Barry was known as the Flash for a reason though.

"Don't do this. Don't fight with me. From the moment you got him, I noticed something about you had changed. You weren't as cold and heartless, no matter how mean that sounded. Before he was around, you thought you fought just to protect the city your parents had failed to do themselves, but you had no purpose. You had no one to impress and no one to fight for! If you had died in battle, you'd only have Alfred to mourn your absence! When he came along though, you had someone to return home to. You had a reason to survive each fight. You weren't just fighting for a city; you were fighting for someone you loved. You had someone to protect in the darkness and someone to protect you."

Bruce swallowed hard, his eyes a bit wide with surprise. "I've never heard you talk like this… what's gotten into you, Allen?"

A pale finger jutted accusingly against the ebony's temple, causing a wince of purely surprise and nothing more from it. Bruce followed the finger up, glaring at it gently. He raised a hand to push it away, but the blonde beat him to it, setting his hand back against his knee idly.

"That would be _common sense_, I'm sure you've heard of it. You know it's true though! And it doesn't have to be a _complete _lie… you can just wait until he's old enough to take it. It's just like telling someone they're adopted. They've always suspected it, but you're just confirming their thoughts! Hide all the evidence and when he's ready, give it all to him. We could have an elite, flawless younger team to fight along side us out there! What do you say?" his eyes shone brightly, a non-chalant shrug dripping from his shoulders like rain to the ground below where it stayed unnoticed.

Stone casually drifted into the opposite man's features, the stick reluctantly removed to process all the thought that had so suddenly intruded to his sub-conscious. It was a bit too much, even for those long uphold supports that he had thought to be unbreakable.

"I…" he tried to think of a way to argue, running a hand through his hair, "I can't raise a kid… I have a job! Besides… even if I didn't have one… I wouldn't know the first thing about any of this…"

Barry seemed to be confident in himself, a small smile playing over his lips. "You have Alfred for that! He's a professional, and he's been raising you from the moment you could stand up! Lighten up a little and find some good in this."

One support beam snapped under the extreme pressure, letting the stubborn rain down like wildfire past his lips. His hands became tight fists, his eyes narrowing as the inner bat inside him awakened with a passion.

"Barry! They're _dying_! The toxins have their immune systems in a complete wreck! Even if I wanted to raise Dick as a Wayne, he wouldn't live long enough for that to happen!" he closed his teeth hard, fear flooding in with the memory.

He set a hand to his temple, wondering how the thought had evaded him for this long. Had the toxin effected him too? He looked at Barry, surprised to see a bit of shock over the blonde's features.

"Dying, eh? Well, that wasn't supposed to happen… they definitely won't like to hear that. Oh well! Much more my type of poison! Eheh, seven down and we're just in the first inning! The rest of the League doesn't stand a chance…" Barry's voice was now a bit accented, sounding nothing like him even as he rose to his feet with an amused bout of laughter. "Then I'll see you at the funeral, Bats!"

Bruce's eyes grew wide and he lunged at the blonde, only to have the body of the speedster dissolve in his arms, sending him fast to the ground where he hit hard. The inner bat helped him to forget that he lacked an actual mask to his face, forcing him to his feet and propelling him over to the children at an alarming speed.

* * *

><p>Billy blushed sheepishly at the amazement in the six pairs of eyes that sparkled his way. The gray kitten was cradled over his forearm, his fingers gently running through the fur between its ears, drawing small little purrs from its opening jowls. Its eyes joined the kids' in looking up at him with wonder, widening his grin.<p>

"You just _flew _up there! You're so cool!" Megan gushed, interlacing her fingers beneath her chin, kicking one foot up innocently.

"That's awesome!" Wally agreed, his grin approving and relieved.

Dick wobbled over to his side, hugging his waist strong with a happy little blush.

"Hero!" he giggled happily, earning a tousle of his hair that scrunched up his nose in amusement.

Billy released the kitten to the grass, watching it test its paws before bolting away with a flicker of a wave from its tail. He lightly put and arm to Dick's back, returning the hug.

"You guys want to go play or something for a little bit? Just 'til the adults get back, I mean?" he offered, hope brimming his tone to the very edge.

The excited head bob was unanimous and instantaneous, causing little Dick to hit his forehead against the start of Billy's ribs. He pulled back with a little wince, eyes wide with surprise causing them all to laugh softly before he was pulled up into Wally's arms again.

"You're a klutz, little guy," the ginger teased, lovingly nuzzling the pale nose of the six year old cradled over his arms.

Dick giggled at the affection, snuggling into the red shirt, "Love you!"

The older kid snickered, setting him down gently to the grass. "Love you, too."

They all started running after Billy, hair blowing rapid at the sudden gust of wind when Dick and Wally were suddenly snatched up by two tan muscled arms.

"Billy—get them back to the Cave. Now," Bruce ordered in a voice as gruff as concrete, wounding the child a bit.

The last the Dark Knight saw of the small hero was a reluctant nod of his head before he was in his car again, speeding along the road. He had his com. link resting beside his eardrum, activating it and practically pressing his foot to the floor.

"Batman to League—Flash has been taken, possessed by Joker. And Joker is full aware of my real identity. He says he had no intentions of killing the children, but he is and I need Zatara to meet me at the Cave as soon as he can get there."

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><p><strong>-F.J. III<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

Scowling roughly, Bruce offered the ginger boy in his backseat a death glare worth fainting over, his teeth gritted hard enough to snap through solid iron. He raised a finger, his index for emphasis, and jabbed the air sharply in the direction of the unhooked seatbelt.

"_Buckle it or you don't get any pizza tonight_," the ebony growled, his threat coming off as if he had threatened to castrate the small child from the intensity of th squeak he let out before fastening the leather over his and Dick's chests.

The other four children in the back muttered fearfully under their breath, scooting closer and defiling whatever was left of their just barely formed personal space bubbles. They all winced as the impatient older man slammed the car door with a vengeance to his strength that rocked his silver Mercedes on its wheels. He circled around to the driver's seat with a huff, climbing in and taking off down the pavement at a breakneck speed, blindly fastening his own seatbelt.

"S-Sir!" Billy cried out in terror from the passenger's seat, ensuring child lock was on to keep him from blasting through the windshield. "What happened? Where did Kid Flash's dad go?"

Bruce kept a grim face, knuckles white and jaw locked as he threw them fast around a corner, earning a scream of disapproval from the kids that penetrated his personal space bubble.

"Not his father," was all he gave to the disgruntled ten year old, not even able to spare a glance.

The kid unfortunate enough to be seated shotgun somehow managed to fight the inertia that had his atoms infused with the cool of the seat behind him and peek his head back to look at the screaming souls with dinner plates for eyes. They all looked as flat as paper with the exception of the feet that managed to still lay horizontal in front of them.

"Hang on, we're going to be okay!" he screamed over the roar of the engine, but he had a hard enough time believing the words.

Bruce didn't offer any condolence or agreement to that statement, just managing the tiniest ghost of a smirk before he braked them hard to let a semi pass. Everyone jerked forward but him, a grunt of pain slipping from each of their lips before Dick and Megan broke out with tiny sobs from terror. That was enough to fade the smirk completely and break the Dark Knight's statuesque form.

"We're just in a hurry…" he cooed, using a gentle voice that shocked everyone within ear range straight to their core. "Not much longer now… stop crying… We're going to be okay."

He had a hand to Dick's ankle, his eyes warm and loving, seeming to strike something hard in the toddler's mind before it slipped from grasp. Even though the thought had left though, he still shyly grinned, the tears slowing quite a bit.

"You promise, daddy?" the blue eyed babe whimpered softly, fear and hope entwining within the small sparkle of his eyes in a forbidden love.

Bruce turned to the street and practically stomped the gas, his heart panging as he remembered the Joker's words to him from his closest friend's mouth.

"_Think about it… Dick doesn't remember _anything _about his past. As far as he knows, you're his full blood family! He thinks you're his real dad! Instead of raising a kid that you're just babysitting 'til he's legal, why not raise a son?"_

He clenched so hard he trembled in place, the road blurring from his vision until he reminded himself he had a mission at hand and that his personal life couldn't interfere. The job would always come first. That was the first rule for justice; the first rule for life in general. He had to think about getting the team back to their regular forms, not about a dream that may have potentially wormed itself hard into his subconscious.

He blocked them out, his forehead creased in three spots from the worry that had managed to slip past his emotionless barrier, all the way until the car came to a stop in a parking lot of a Wendy's. When the engine shut off, he was quick to usher the trembling children to the street, catching them as they wobbled to the asphalt. When they managed to clear their heads and Dick began to crawl up Bruce's pant leg, their guardian swooped him off his feet and gestured the small children after him to an alley that housed a small phone box.

Bruce opened the door first, setting his eye to the scanner without fully closing the door.

"Billy, keep the kids close. I'm going to override the system and get us all in," he ordered sharply, just barely remembering to set Dick down outside before he began.

The oldest of the kids behind him stormed forward, setting a hand to the wooden door to get the man's attention.

"Look, I know you're stressed, but they don't need the override to get in. They're some of the highest on the ZETA's entry banks. We can get them through," Billy argued, holding his fists tight before he held them up and shouted loud his key word, "Shazam!"

Captain Marvel took Billy's place, snatching up all of the children into his arms and holding them in a way that stopped the terror for just a little. Bruce was hesitant, but he shut the door carefully, his heart breaking as Dick squirmed and screamed within his fellow Leaguers arms, shrieking and grabbing desperately for him before the light took him to Mount Justice where he stood in waiting.

He held his breath, trying to stay as patient as he could as what felt like lifetimes ticked by, running his hands through his hair before he remembered he didn't have a mask on. He was quick to fumble in his jacket pocket, slipping a pair of thick rimmed shades over his eyes, just in time for Dick to come hobbling quickly through the portal.

"Recognized: Robin B02," the computer beckoned, but Bruce couldn't hear over the happy squee that the six year old emitted happily into his ear.

He had the child clutched tight to his chest, struggling to keep his affection gentle, a shy grin cutting his face. When the computer sounded again though, Dick was on the ground and his face was solemn, fingers casually tousling the brunette hair. They stood there as one-by-one, the crowd joined them at the entry, finishing with Captain Marvel who simply nodded a greeting to the driver.

"Now what, Captain?" the buffer of the two asked, eyes shining resiliently in his false form.

Bruce looked around from the kids to the many exits they could take, settling back on the hero's face.

"Feels like I should be asking you the same. We have to get Zatara and Martian Manhunter, sooner being better. Try and keep an eye on all the kids this time, okay? Don't lose them."

Captain Marvel just blushed.

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><p>The Martian lifted his fingertips from Wally's forehead, the emerald eyes slowly uncrossing to follow the jade digit with a confused little smile. The bald alien didn't seem as amused though, lowering his hand to his side and turning his scarlet gaze to the civvie-dressed Batman leaning up against the wall.<p>

"The child seems to have retained all of the absent memories…" Martian Manhunter began slowly, struggling to think of how to continue his sentence and make sense while doing it.

"… but…?" Bruce impatiently drew out, glancing to Dick as he let out a giggle, clapping his hands in amusement before tugging Conner's exposed ear.

The boy with the Superman symbol on his shirt scrunched up his nose but laughed, picking up the six year old and spinning him around before holding him high and carrying him fast around the room.

"Lookie dad! I can fly! I can fly!" Dick shrieked between giggles, his hands alternating from in front of him for added effect to the backs of Conner's hands to keep from falling.

It brought out the faintest of a smile to the older hero's lips until he realized that Martian Manhunter had already resumed talking. He shook his head fast, rubbing his temples weakly.

"Come again? I zoned out there," there was a hint of apology to his tone, his hand sliding back to massage the tense feeling from his neck.

The alien nodded, understanding.

"I said: 'The gas seems to have built a barrier around the memories of their past, effectively diminishing any chance they have of getting to them'. It seems they've had shimmers of consciousness that are brought out by extreme déjà vu or a sense of danger, but the gaps between those moments seem to space out farther and farther each day," he repeated himself in the gravelly voice that easily shamed Batman's best version.

Bruce swallowed hard at that, a knot tying itself off hard in his stomach where it seemed to want to stay no matter how hard his inner gut strength tried to shake it. He took scissors to it quick, searching for even the lightest crease, biting his lip as he thought.

"Is there any chance that either you or Zatara can reverse the effect? I know there wouldn't be much help to age them back, but if they're older, they can tell us what's wrong and hopefully a cure can be made up before it's too late… if it's not already…" he breathed the last part, but his fellow hero heard it a bit too well.

"It's not too late, Batman. The toxin is eating away at them, but if they're all as healthy as Kid Flash-," he wasn't allowed to finish.

"Kid Flash has super speed in all parts, meaning he can fight infection a lot faster than any of them ever could. Just tell me how I can save my s-… w… Robin."

The green Martian nodded again, blinking slowly before he connected a few conclusions and offered them out cautiously.

"The first thought to cross my mind is using the sense of danger to scare it out. If they have the mindsets of the ages they look, they won't recall how to defend themselves in the simulator. They'll be terrified enough to literally be shocked back to full memory. From there, Zatara and I can secure their memories."

Bruce was silent, watching the kids again, his breath slow as it fueled his brains and quickly processed all of the ifs, ands and buts of the situation that was to arise.

"And if that doesn't work…?" he pushed his shades up higher, the dark of his eyes accidentally meeting the bloodied pupils the older of them had.

The look he received in turn only tightened the knot, instinctively darting his hand from his neck to the ache.

"Get some sidekick applications ready."

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><p><strong>Sorry this is so late… but next chapter should make up for it, I promise! I get to scare some children. My specialty.<strong>

**-F.J. III**


	21. Chapter 21

**I know it's been… forever… since I promised to update, and I'm sorry, so this time I won't promise such a speedy update. I don't know how soon one will come, but I figured that since the world's going to end (hopefully), I might as well get some stuff done. I wrote this up in FACS, Geometry, Art, Science and History. It won't be worth the time I wasn't working on it, that's a shoo-in, but at least I updated… right…? **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or its relating characters, but I do own the Jake the Dog necklace and the Best Friends bracelet Hannah got me for Christmas! And everyone will be out of character because they are.**

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><p>Six stone tabs lay to rest in a passable circle, the granite tops smoothed to chilling flats with the exception of where faithless and unconscious feet and fists had beaten and pounded in a hopeless desperation to fade away the illusion behind closed eyelids. Eight feet in length, three in height, the six children had to be hoisted up from under their armpits to actually get on the slabs that a mere week ago it seemed they were just backing up to and sliding on with a small hop (with the exception of Dick of course, but his agility always put him up there in the coolest fashion).<p>

"Are you sure this will work?" Bruce cradled his ward in his arms, the sparkle in those navy eyes so innocent and happy.

As he blinked, he saw the dark blue gush with sudden tears and lips part in screams of pure betrayal as the small frame in his arms racked with the pain that only an orphan could comprehend. He would watch the love leave those freshly chiseled features and instead let the loneliness creep in and rob the ebony of the shy of his smile and the blush of his cheeks while that sparkle turned to ice. But then his eyes opened and nothing but that heart-wrenching beaming expression hopefully and happily shining onto the man's worn features could be seen.

"Your worry for the child clouds your vision more than your sunglasses do, Batman," J'onn chided in a deep and omniscient tone, tensing Bruce to his center and back out again.

He set the six year old down on a slab, lightly removing the pale grabby hands from the sides of his sunglasses and held them in his own more calloused hands for a while before hinting the ebony to lie on his back.

"Stay out of my head, Manhunter. That's the one place your ZETA… _whatever_… won't excuse your unannounced entry."

The Martian blinked in surprise, standing in the center of the stones as his head slowly swiveled to face the man.

"Did you just 'whatever' me?" he accused, surprise genuinely woven into his features.

Bruce tensed again, lips parting to deny it before he moved over to Dick's slab and lay down beside him, smiling down at the child before closing his own eyes. The six year old looked up at him curiously, turning on his side and putting an arm halfway around the muscled chest, nuzzling his nose against the hidden ribs until the tuxedoed man gave a laugh and urged him back, tensing again at a sharp throb in his head that robbed a gasp of pain from his lips.

"After you hook the kids up, start dissecting my brain, doc. I don't know what's going on, and I don't like to trust someone with reddened eyes who isn't offering me anything, but I'm suffering the biggest headache and I hurt too much to really care if you know what you're doing."

He sounded so young then, early twenties at the _latest_, fingers grasping over his eyes, almost infuriated to find his shades sealing over them as in a fit he quickly tossing them to the floor. They didn't crack, but they clattered enough to bring another groan past his lips.

"I have the biggest… ugh… am I hung-over?" he pressed his palms deep against his socket, the suction calming him down just a little. "Will… will you stop clicking?!"

"Clicking?" J'onn repeated, confused, walking to Bruce's side and looking down at the lengthy nimble fingers. "There isn't any-…"

But then he saw it. The corner of his eye. A flicker of light. An unwelcome shine. A repetitive tap. A quiet whir. He turned slowly. Long spindly legs. Eight separate clicks, almost all at once. Wandering arm sufficing as an eye. Red glow of a camera. Watching. Showing. Planning. Caught.

"Now what have we here?" he raised the creature up with his mind alone, a telepathic binding bending its legs in concave and making it give off a terrifying screech that brought out pained cries from the suddenly lawn-chairing **[1] **children.

With a glance though, they all fell flat with a quiet gasp, leaving the Martian and the machine staring eye-to-lens. A calm glance, steady and unmoving pierced scarlet meeting an echo glow, was all he gave it before his eyes jumped up in tint along the color wheel and the spider-like object gave its final breath. It was well used though, the thick blue smoke unfurling up into the Martian's features.

"What are you—?" he tried before his legs suddenly gave out and he sprawled onto the ground, fingers still gripping tight to the creature.

And then, as it gave a final twitch, the whole room became unconscious with nothing but the sunlight and lazy pupils darting beneath closed eyelids.

* * *

><p>"Neetfif ot kcab tseW yllaW ega," a familiar voice stirred Bruce's mind with a thin straw, not enough to unsettle the foam, but enough to clear consciousness to the darkness.<p>

The sound that followed was what snapped the man's eyes open as wide as they'd go, sitting him straight up only to cringe in agony at the headache. The splitting and breaking of bone, a crisp snap with each second, inhumane screams soaked with pain spilling from an auburn-haired boy's lips as his skin stretched and grew, tearing along the seams of where his bones pressed hard against it, tears pouring as Wally grew from seven to fifteen in a matter of seconds was what had Bruce fully awake without a drop of foam to his content. When the sounds settled and the room grew silent, the ginger fell from the examining table to his knees on the linoleum far below, sobbing roughly into the open air at the lingering pain.

The youngest in the room, a six year old with messy locks for hair and worry etched deep into his expression, ran to the auburn's side and tried to hug him, only managing to get halfway around him, stubbornly kissing the naked shoulder, completely and adorably oblivious to the lack of clothes he bore. Wally didn't lower his knees more than to his rib-cage's start, reaching out to pull the six year old to his naked flesh, sobbing weakly above the raven-haired boy's locks.

"O-Owie," he gasped out, the acrobat's little boo-boo kisses doing nothing but making him hurt more, the same seven-year old voice working his delicate vocal chords.

Zatara frowned more in disappointment than guilt, fingering the brim of his top hat in thought.

"I can alter their physical age, it seems, but their minds will be a lot harder to retrieve," he muttered under his breath, glancing from the huddled form to his daughter who had been dutifully standing off to the side, taking notes on a transparent blue clipboard. "Zatanna, after you help Kid Flash relocate his clothes—"

"Mih sserd," she smirked with a wave of her fingers upon mention, smiling softly as the plaid jacket and jeans in her mind covered the ghastly white flesh.

"I want you to try your hand with the Robin boy," he smiled with pride at her, violently prying the small being from Wally's chest and handing him over.

Zatanna walked over, her heels clicking along the floor, bending down and looking at the small boy before reaching her hands out for him. When he just stared at her, she took it upon herself to cradle him lightly in her arms, smiling in awe down at him, but he chose only to shriek and direct grabby hands desperately towards the teen that the older magician was quietly enchanting, each set of words drawings out fearful whimpers.

"I think you're hurting him," Bruce groaned, a rough throbbing to his temples, starting to stand up when he found he couldn't, a white strap secured over his slacks, the scarlet of his tie catching his peripheral as it stroked the strap.

He struggled against the binding, grinding his teeth in frustration as it stayed in place, tracing it beneath the metal table he was on, but he couldn't feel a buckle or release switch.

"Your concern is unnecessary, Wayne. Lay back down and I'll be with you before long," Zatara just waved a hand at him before returning it to the trembling auburn's temple and resuming his murmuring.

If the emerald gaze wasn't bright before, the night sky turned away in jealousy with a frustrated flush to its cheeks and arms folded grudgingly over its chest as a pure neon light shone out onto the magician's face, not even the slightest worry in the bemused expression.

"The pupils are at a normal dilation," he noted, peeking closer in with a murmur that enlarged the eye in a huge circular arrangement, kind of like an invisible magnifying glass. "Cerebral is functioning at a level appropriate for a fifteen year old with his stamina… stem still vibrating firmly… might need to run him through the Martian and MRI… but it seems the toxins effected just his thoughts, mere a hallucination, but that doesn't quite explain their aging back unless it was the Martian girl… they did say her capacity surpassed that of Manhunter, held the team mentally hostage in the simulation..."

Wally shivered fearfully, blinking another tear set down staining cheeks with a tight trembling of the fists grasping at his newly wrapped sleeves.

"Am I gonna die?" he choked out, just the slightest flicker of hope visible against the neon in the magnified eye.

Zatara took that hope into his arms, nurtured and raised it, loved it until they became a happy family upon which he took it by the throat in its sleep and snapped its life out into the crisp nighttime air.

"More than likely," he bluntly stated, drawing a protestant cry form Bruce's lips, his eyes mentally Gibbs-slapping **[2] **the hat straight from the man's head, while broken and loud sobs split both Dick and Wally's frames.

"No!" the smallest ebony in the room wailed, a sharp kick to his 'captor's' stomach doubling Zatanna over and dropping Dick to his shoes.

She held her aching stomach firmly, biting her lip, amazed at how strong that kick had been, grimacing as she straightened carefully. Even for the six year old size he bore, Dick _bolted _with enough strength to push Zatara away with a strange tackle-like move, quickly pulling on Wally's arm with a groan at his weight in an attempt to get him away from the danger.

"Have a little faith, 'tara!" Dick growled, managing to get the speedster to his worn Converse in a voice that made him sound twice his appearance and then some, "You seriously need to get whelmed. Not traught at all! Artemis wasn't and you see where that almost got us! I could be kicking it out in Atlantis!"

The eldest hero grinned happily with an adjustment of his hat, clapping his gloved hands together quietly to show his approval on the situation, sending chills down the smaller boy's spine.

"So fear really does bring you back… the adrenaline might contribute… or maybe the testosterone brought it out, could always test that one too… simulation of course, if Mr. Wayne wakes up, I'd be in a bit of trouble… unless we start using shots …" he began to near feverishly talk beneath his breath, narrowing the navy eyes.

"We don't have time for this, Magic Man! They're going to be here any day now with a more permanent concoction for the League! We were just the test dummies! We have to evacuate, get to the Watchtower!" as Dick continued on, his voice began to drastically lessen in depth, as if he was going through reverse puberty at a speed fast enough to make the best of the speedsters hang up his boots for a week.

"Who? Robin!" the man rushed to ask, but it was too late.

The confusion fell harder than the entire cast of Macbeth at curtain call, the tiny pale hands desperately grasping at the thick black locks.

"I… I don't…" he was suddenly six again in mind, transfixed by the patterns on Wally's jacket with a quiet giggle.

"Neetriht ot kcab nosyarG kciD ega!" the desperate cry came out, widening those blue eyes in the same manner as the tone.

And then the room was drowned out in screams.

* * *

><p><strong>[1] "Lawn-chairing is when your face just rams into your knees," –Sam Scholz<strong>

**[2] A Gibbs-slap, derived from NCIS, is when one takes the flat of their hand, generally the index through middle finger and slaps the space between the nape of the neck and the man mass of the head, a visual of 'knocking sense' into someone. **

**So next chapter is officially when I get to torture the kids because Zatara just confirmed fear's effect. I have a few headcanons concerning Dick and his fears and I know Kaldur and Megan's, but I'm a bit stumped on the others. Mind giving a torturer some help on some tactics? Come on, children, gimme a hand! **

**-F.J. III**


End file.
